As we move further and further out of the Game of Thrones wilderness that is 2018, more news of its upcoming spin-off is being revealed – all before the landmark series finally returns, and ends, next year.
The latest development regarding this new HBO project is the casting of Naomi Watts in a key role. Watts is best known for her roles in both mainstream Hollywood blockbusters such as Peter Jackson’s King Kong, as well as in critically acclaimed indie flicks such as David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. It is with Lynch that the English actress has most recently made a splash, appearing in a recurring role in his 2017 continuation of the cult classic, Twin Peaks. Of course, Twin Peaks was another television project for Watts, proving that she’s no stranger to the small screen. Whether you’re watching her in the cinema or in your living room, there’s no denying that this is a huge name to have attached to the project.
While specific details of Watts’ character are being kept under wraps, it has been announced that she is playing ‘a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret’. Despite being very vague, this statement leaves much to ponder. Whereabouts in Westeros – if that is indeed where the series is going to be set – must this character be to be considered a socialite? In what time period does she exist? And what is her ‘dark secret’? We’ll only learn the answers to these questions in time, but what we do know from author George R. R. Martin and showrunner Jane Goldman is that the series is a prequel to the Song of Ice and Fire books, set thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones.
It’s always an exciting time to be a Thrones fan, but with news like this preceding the show’s imminent finale, now is more thrilling than ever.