Naomi Watts Cast in HBO’s ‘Game Of Thrones’ Prequel Pilot, ‘The Long Night’

Recognizing the power of dragons and everything else accompanying Game of Thrones, HBO has begun the process of putting together pilots for a number of proposed prequel series to the George R.R. Martin created saga as the original winds down. The first one that’s getting traction is called The Long Night, and Naomi Watts is set to star in it.

George had tweeted the news that “casting is now underway for The Long Night, the first of the Game of Thrones successor series to be ordered to film,” and following the announcement of Naomi’s casting, he added on his blog, “I could not be more excited. Welcome to Westeros, Naomi.”

Variety actually broke the news about Naomi’s casting, commenting, “The exact details of Watts’ character are being kept under wraps, but it is known she is playing “a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret… Taking place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, [The] project chronicles 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.”

It may sound like gibberish to anyone who hasn’t watched the fantasy series, but it’s music to the ears of devotees.

On his blog, George explains that screenwriter Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass) wrote the script and will serve as showrunner. “She and her team are busy in London right now, neck deep in casting, and I expect some more names will be announced soon.” Meanwhile, he adds, “There are still a couple of other possible prequels in active development. I can’t tell you the subject matter of those projects, no, sorry, wish I could. The readers among you might want to grab a copy of Fire & Blood when it is released on Nov. 20, though.”

Naomi’s previous credits include the 2005 remake of King Kong, Fair Game (2010), The Impossible (2012), Diana (2013), Birdman (2014), Shut In (2016), and The Glass Castle (2017).