‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel Casts Naomi Watts For A Lead Role

Two-time Academy Award nominee, Naomi Watts is set to star in the highly anticipated Game of Thrones prequel pilot on HBO.

Details of Watt’s character haven’t been revealed yet, but she will play “a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret,” according to multiple reports. 

Recently, it was announced that Watts had signed to play the character Gretchen Carlson in the Roger Ailes limited series which is currently undergoing at Showtime. Watts is most known for her roles in films from Mulholland Drive, I Heart Huckabees, Birdman to The Ring, King Kong and J. Edgar. She also earned Academy Award nominations for her roles in 21 Grams and The Impossible.

Watts will now be entering the new Game of Thrones world which will be set thousands of years before Jon Snow arrived in Westeros. The series is expected to explore “the world’s descent from the Golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour,” the network said. 

“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,” it continued.

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A release date for the Game of Thrones prequel has yet to be announced, but HBO’s president for programming, Casey Bloys did previously reveal that if any pilot projects head to series, it’s not “going to air on HBO until at least a year after the final season.”

Jane Goldman and George R.R. Martin co-created the project and wrote the story for the series. Goldman will serve as showrunner, and she and Martin will executive produce with Daniel Zelman, James Farrell, Jim Dang Gray, and Game of Thrones executive producer Vince Gerardis. 

This newest series is one of five of Game of Thrones projects that have been in the works at HBO. 

HBO has continued to keep details of the plot under wraps, but Martin has made it clear that each project is a prequel, not a spinoff, so none of the current main cast of the series will be involved. He has also shot down many fan theories focusing on his characters Ser Duncan the Tall and Aegon and a prequel involving the subject of Robert’s Rebellion.