Game of Thrones could be getting a prequel series, HBO has announced, one of five potential spin-offs from the series.
Book author George RR Martin has created the new series alongside British screenwriter Jane Goldman.
HBO has ordered a pilot episode for the show, set thousands of years before the battles over the Iron Throne.
Executives say any spin-off will not be broadcast until after Game of Thrones’ final season in 2019.
If picked up, the prequel will chronicle “the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour”, HBO said in a statement.
“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.”
HBO said the series could start in the “golden Age of Heroes”, thousands of years before the events in Game of Thrones.
Don’t expect any of the current crop of characters to show up. But their ancient forebears may well make an appearance.
Bran the Builder, founder of the House of Stark, was a hero of the time, as well as Lann the Clever, founder of the House of Lannister – two of the central families involved in the Game of Thrones series.
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