HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series hails from Kingsman: The Secret Service and X-Men: First Class writer Jane Goldman, who co-wrote the new pilot with author George R.R. Martin. Let’s jump into the details and discuss what we know about her and more.
Creation of the Night King
The show will take place thousands of years prior to the current Game of Thrones series. In a way, the current show is telling us the end of the story. The Game of Thrones prequel will tell us the beginning. Per Variety, the series will focus on “the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour”. That likely refers to the time before the creation of the White Walkers and the long night that followed afterwards. George R.R. Martin hopes the show will be called The Long Night.
The creation of the White Walkers was touched on briefly in Season 6, Episode 5 “The Door.” Bran was allowed to see the creation of the Night King and why the Children of the Forest needed him. He was their protector, for a time, during the invasion of the First Men. According to their long history, however, the Children ended up uniting with their invaders because the White Walkers sought to destroy all life in Westeros.
The show will also document the lineage of the great Stark family. Since the Starks have always been men and women of the North, it will be interesting to see if the show ties their choice to settle there into the existence of the Walkers and the Children of the Forest. As Northerners, it would seem that their fates are all connected.
Finally, a Female Showrunner
Jane Goldman is a fantastic writer and director for this show. She previously worked on the fantasy film Stardust — the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel of the same name. She also has writing credits on the last two X-Men films: X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past. She worked on both Kingsman films and served as a producer on the British show The Big Fat Quiz for the last 12 years.
Goldman has experience in adapting novels and comics, and she can clearly handle projects with massive budgets like the X-Men films. She has tons of industry experience and will provide a much needed female perspective on Game of Thrones.
At a time when most tentpole projects are being helmed by men — we’re looking at you, Star Wars — it’s refreshing to know that at least in the world of television, HBO is willing to give female showrunners their shot.
And, remember, Game of Thrones returns April 14 on HBO. Celebrate responsibly.
