Game of Thrones prequel begins filming

The final season of Game of Thrones may have divided fans. However, HBO has begun filming a promising pilot for the prequel series in Northern Ireland, set thousands of years before Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) bravely battled the Night King, penned by Jane Goldman (X-Men: First Class).

“Westeros is a very different place,” George R.R. Martin told EW. “There’s no King’s Landing. There’s no Iron Throne. There are no Targaryens — Valyria has hardly begun to rise yet with its dragons and the great empire that it built. We’re dealing with a different and older world and hopefully that will be part of the fun of the series.”

Naomi Watts stars along with Naomi Ackie, Denise Gough, Miranda Richardson, Josh Whitehouse, Jamie Campbell Bower, Sheila Atim, Ivanno Jeremiah, Alex Sharp and Toby Regbo.

If all goes according to plan, the prequel series is expected to premiere in late 2020 or early 2021 on HBO.