Naomi Watts Will Headline HBO’s GAME OF THRONES Prequel

Regardless of how you feel about HBO's forthcoming Game of Thrones spin-off (a prequel set thousands of years before the events depicted in the current series), there can be no doubt that casting Naomi Watts as one of your leads is a major casting coup. 

According to Variety, that's what's happening! Watts will play "a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret”. We know nothing else about her character at this time, but Variety's report does contain a spiffy little plot synopsis for the series, which I'm not sure I'd actually seen before now:

"Taking place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones,  [Jane] Goldman’s 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."

As you probably know by now, the Game of Thrones prequel is being spearheaded by Jane Goldman and George R.R. Martin, both of whom cracked the show's story together (Goldman's writing the script and serving as the showrunner). This is one of five - yes, five - Game of Thrones prequels HBO has put into development as of late, though it remains unclear whether or not the other four will actually get made. 

Anyway, snagging Watts for this prequel is a major get for both HBO and Goldman, and we're excited to learn more. Stay tuned for further updates as they become available.