After eight seasons of backstabbing, violence, and fantastic spectacle, Game of Thrones has finally come to a divisive conclusion. Though the flagship series may be over, fans don’t have to leave Westeros just yet. Several spin-off shows are in the works, including a few involving George R.R. Martin himself. One of these spin-offs has, in fact, already started filming, so fans won’t have to wait long to dive back into the world of dragons and dictators. Here’s everything we know about the new Game of Thrones show “Bloodmoon.”
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The Plot
The world of “Bloodmoon” is going to be familiar to most “Thrones” fans, but is also going to paint a very different picture of Westeros. According to an official description from HBO, Bloodmoon “chronicles the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour,” and will reveal “the horrifying secrets of Westeros’s history from the true origin of the white walkers, the mysteries of the East, to the Starks of legend.”
The show will be set 5,000 years before the events of the original series, when the mysterious Children of the Forest still roamed the land. We only met a few of these otherworldly creatures over the course of the show, and know little about them. From what we do know, the Children of the Forest once inhabited Westeros in the time before men, and were almost driven to extinction when the First Men appeared on the continent. By the time of “Game of Thrones” the Children of the Forest were apparently extinct (or at least had been driven into hiding), but their actions had grave repercussions even thousands of years later.
To protect themselves from the onslaught of human invaders, the Children of the Forest created The Night King by driving dragonglass into the heart of a member of The Night’s Watch, turning him into the nefarious entity that became one of the show’s main antagonists. It’s not difficult to imagine Bloodmoon putting a focus on the events that led to The Night King’s creation; perhaps we’ll even get to see who he was before he was turned into the original White Walker, and find out more about his purpose and motivations. This theory holds even more weight when taken together with the fact that George R.R. Martin had originally pushed to title the show “The Long Night.”
Martin also teased on his personal blog that the show might also cast light on the beginnings of the Targaryen dynasty. Specifically, he pointed to the show drawing some plot details from his Game of Thrones companion novel “Fire & Blood” which focuses on the Targaryen rulers from Aegon the Conqueror all the way up to the end of the Dance of Dragons. Though the timelines do seem slightly off (the First Men came to Westeros years before the Targaryens were on the scene) it might make for an interesting interplay to see the Targaryens rising to power as the White Walkers begin to take hold in the lands beyond the Wall.
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Play Now ►The Cast
With filming beginning in Belfast a few weeks ago, most of “Bloodmoon’s” cast has already been announced. Though we have few details on who each actor will be playing, the final list makes for an impressive mix of stars and relative unknowns. Here are a few of the highlights.
Naomi Watts: A veteran and award-winning actress, Naomi Watts has appeared in everything from “King Kong” to “The Ring.” The exact name and nature of her character is unknown, but we do have a short official description. Apparently, Watts will be playing “a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret.” Taken together with her fair hair and blue eyes, could this mean Watts is playing one of the earliest Lannisters? Or perhaps a Targaryen?
Miranda Richardson: Most moviegoers will know British actress Miranda Richardson as the ambitious and nosy reporter Rita Skeeter from the “Harry Potter” movies. Aside from her “Potter” role, Richardson is a BAFTA award winner and two-time Academy Award nominee, and was also known for playing Queen Elizabeth on BBC’s “Blackadder.” Perhaps she’ll be playing another queen for “Bloodmoon.”
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Jamie Campbell Bower: Also a “Harry Potter” veteran, Jamie Campbell Bower’s sharp features, pale eyes, and blonde hair also bring to mind Targaryens and Lannisters. With a distinct physical type beginning to emerge in many of the show’s lead actors, it seems safe to say that one of these two families will be a focal point for “Bloodmoon.”
Marquis Rodriguez: American actor Marquis Rodriguez has appeared in a whole host of TV shows from “Law and Order” to “Chicago Fire.” More recently, he appeared in the MCU Netflix shows “Iron Fist” and “Luke Cage.” Though we don’t know too much yet about his character, Rodriguez has been confirmed as a series regular.
Though we don’t know a lot yet about “Bloodmoon,” the tantalizing details that have been revealed so far certainly have us craving some more Game of Thrones content. If reports are be believed, we won’t have to wait long: sources point towards a rumored release sometime in the summer of 2020.
