In a shocking development Tuesday, the most high-profile of HBO’s planned Game of Thrones spinoffs is dead. The untitled project was a prequel taking place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones. 

It already had a full cast and the pilot was shot in Northern Ireland earlier this year. Reportedly, HBO execs were not impressed with the first cut, sent it back for edits, and were still unimpressed with a second version.

The pilot had both a woman writer (Jane Goldman) and a woman director (S.J. Clarkson).

Here’s the logline for the project: “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.”

We only knew the description of one character, played by Naomi Watts, the series lead. Her character would have been “a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret.”

This pilot’s cast was much more diverse than that of its predecessor. Several Black actors including Naomi Ackie, Marquis Rodriguez, Sheila Atim and Ivanno Jeremiah were cast as series regulars. You may be familiar with Ackie, who has gotten a lot of press lately due to the introduction of the mysterious character she’ll play in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Atim won an Olivier Award for her role in Girl From the North Country and Jeremiah has appeared in Humans and Black Mirror. Rodriguez starred in Ava DuVernay’s limited series, When They See Us. 

Miranda Richardson, Josh Whitehouse, Denise Gough, Jamie Campbell Bower, Alex Sharp, Georgie Henley, Dixie Egerickx, John Simm, Richard McCabe and Toby Regbo rounded out the rest of the main cast.

Many other spinoffs are in different stages of development. Right now, only one, which focuses on the Targaryens, is headed toward a pilot order.  Last year, HBO president Casey Bloys said that out of the five in development, the four other than the now-dead one were “not happening at the moment,” and that some were “dead,” but “others possibilities.”

 

READ MORE:

Here’s Everything We Know About The ‘Game Of Thrones’ Spinoff That’s Shooting Later This Year

 

Photo: Getty Images

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