The prequel to the hit series "Game of Thrones", called "House of the Dragon", will begin filming in the coming months.
This was stated by the chief executive of WarnerMedia, Jason Keelar.
The relevant news was published on the official website of the media corporation.
“Watch out for dragons overhead!” Kilar advises jokingly.
The page also contains concept art for the upcoming series.
They show what the dragons will look like and also show the coat of arms of House Targaryen.
The life of this family will be at the center of the plot of the new project.
The last representative of the Daenerys Targaryen dynasty was one of the central heroines of Game of Thrones.
The House of the Dragon series will be based on the book Fire and Blood by George Martin.
The action will unfold 300 years before the events shown in "Game of Thrones".
The miniseries are slated to have ten episodes.
In October, the name of the leading actor became known.
It will be British actor Paddy Considine.
He is familiar to the audience for his secondary roles in such films as "The Bourne Ultimatum", "Knockdown", "Macbeth" and other projects.
Considine is also an independent filmmaker.
He is the winner of the Silver Lion of the Venice Film Festival for the best short film - "Nowhere Worse."
The same work was awarded a BAFTA award.
Two more awards, BAFTA and the Sundance Festival Prize, were awarded to Considine for the feature-length drama Tyrannosaurus.
This time he will play the role of King Viserys Targaryen.
In the story, the hero comes to power as a result of the Grand Council in Harrenhal, when the lords of Westeros appoint him to succeed his grandfather, King Jaheiris.
Viserys is described as a kind and decent person who wishes to preserve the legacy of his ancestor, being not the most talented ruler.
© Shot from the series "Game of Thrones"
George Martin personally takes part in the work on the prequel.
He will produce the project, and in the future, possibly, join the creation of the script.
Now Martin is writing the novel The Winds of Winter, the sixth part of the Song of Ice and Fire cycle, on the basis of which Game of Thrones is based.
Martin repeatedly postponed the publication date.
And on the eve of the start of filming the series, the writer explained that at the moment it is more important for him to complete work on the book.
“I won't touch on any scripts until I finish Winds of Winter.
Winter is still close, and "Winds" remain a priority for me, no matter how much I would like to write a series or two for the "House of the Dragon", - said the writer in his personal blog.
The plot is being developed by Sara Lee Hess and Ryan Kondal, the latter will also be one of the showrunners along with Miguel Sapochnik.
He, in turn, will take the director's chair on the set of the pilot and some other episodes.
Producers include Vince Gerardis.
Westeros was not immediately built
Dragon House is the second Game of Thrones prequel to be launched.
In 2018, HBO commissioned a pilot for what George Martin called "The Longest Night" (or "The Longest Night" to avoid coinciding with the title of one of the episodes of the original series).
Its action was supposed to unfold tens of centuries before the uprising of Robert Baratheon, which marked the beginning of the Game of Thrones.
“The series, which takes place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, will chronicle the world's transition from the golden era of heroes to dark times.
The terrifying secrets of the history of Westeros and the true origin of the White Walkers, the secrets of the East and the legendary Starks ... Only one thing is certain: this is not at all the story that we think we know "- followed from the description of the series.
© Shot from the series "Game of Thrones"
A pilot episode was filmed in Northern Ireland in the spring and summer of 2019.
It was directed by C.J. Clarkson and written by Jane Goldman.
Naomi Watts (The Painted Veil, Mulholland Drive) starred.
Jamie Campbell Bower, Georgie Henley, Toby Regbo, Miranda Richardson and others also starred in the pilot of The Long Night.
However, in October 2019, HBO's management decided to close the project.
This news upset many people involved in the work on the tape.
“I share your pain.
I was also interested in the project, "Watts said to fans of the Game of Thrones universe in an interview with news.com.au.
“I was not a fan of Game of Thrones and only watched the show after I was cast.
I watched all the seasons in one gulp in about a couple of months, and it was amazing.
It's a shame, it would be a great show, ”the actress said.
George Martin also expressed regret at the cancellation of further filming.
In his opinion, the cancellation of "Long Night" is not related to the launch of "House of the Dragon" into production.
“I don't even need to say that the news of the cancellation of the series upset me ... After all, there is enough space on television for countless seasons of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and the Chicago franchise ... Westeros and Essos are much more, their history goes back thousands of years, legends, legends and heroes would be enough for a dozen TV series, ”the writer noted in his blog.
He also expressed his sympathy for the film crew and actors.
“Cases when you work on a pilot for years, put blood, sweat and tears into it, only so that then it all goes to dust, for all its regret, are not so rare,” concluded Martin.