We thought everyone was watching this show, but apparently, we were wrong. Naomi Watts never watched Game of Thrones before she was cast for the prequel series, The Long Night, and we have so many questions. While the HBO series amassed millions of viewers who tuned in each Sunday night to watch what would happen in King’s Landing, Watts wasn’t one of them.
Watts revealed in a recent interview with PorterEdit, NET-A-PORTER’s weekly digital magazine, that, prior to being asked to star in the Thrones prequel, she had never watched an episode of the landmark HBO series. “I didn’t start watching until I was approached about this job,” the actress confessed. “But my brother [the photographer, Ben Watts], who is heavily into it, told me, ‘Under no circumstances are you going to turn this down.’”
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But once Watts finally started watching the series, she completely tore into the show, finishing seven seasons in three-months time. The actress said she “was in — hook, line and sinker.” Honestly, we totally get it. With the opportunity to headline the prequel series, Watts will be reaching a completely new audience who may be unfamiliar with the Oscar nominee’s work. “I still have fears about that,” she said. “I don’t really know what to prepare for.” Watts recently dabbled in medieval-esque spaces with the Shakesperean adaptation of Ophelia. In the film, Watts looks like she would fit into the Seven Kingdoms perfectly.
According to People, production of the prequel’s pilot recently wrapped in Northern Ireland. Also among the cast are likely unknowns to the Thrones fandom: Naomi Ackie (Lady Macbeth) and Denise Gough (Broadway’s Angels in America). The prequel series will take place roughly 5,000 years before the events of the original series that ran from 2011 to 2019. As for what fans can expect of the prequel, George R. R. Martin — who will serve as the prequel series’ co-creator — shared, “Obviously the White Walkers are here — or as they’re called in my books, The Others — and that will be an aspect of it,” he said. “And there are things like direwolves and mammoths.” Pour some wine and ready your dragons, fans can expect the series to premiere in 2020 or 2021.
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