The final season of Game of Thrones isn’t airing until next year, but the first green-lit spinoff of the HBO phenomenon officially begins filming in Belfast, Northern Ireland in October, according to Deadline.
The pilot was created by A Song of Ice and Fire novelist George R.R. Martin and Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass, Kingsman), and is a prequel that takes place thousands of years prior to the time of Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow. Though the name of the spinoff hasn't been revealed, we know it’s set to illustrate “the world's descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour. And only one thing is for sure: From the horrifying secrets of Westeros’ history to the true origin of the White Walkers, the mysteries of the East to the Starks of legend...it’s not the story we think we know."
Local newspaper Belfast Telegraph first reported that filming kicks off this fall. For fans who might be wondering, nobody from Game of Thrones will be on the new show. Martin revealed this tidbit on his blog in June. “None of the characters or actors from Game of Thrones will appear in the new show,” he wrote. “All of the successor shows we’ve been developing have been prequels, as I have mentioned before.”
This isn’t the only GoT spinoff in the works. Last month Martin also gave an update on the other four possible series. One has been shelved, but three others are still in development. "Everything I am told indicates that we could film at least one more pilot, and maybe more than one, in the years to come," Martin wrote. "We do have an entire world and tens of thousands of years of history to play with, after all. But this is television, so nothing is certain."
