This coming April, Game of Thrones will be moseying its way out of HBO after eight glorious seasons of character-driven television. After influencing the modern age of entertainment, it’ll be lights out for this series…but not for the world fo Westeros. As has already been covered extensively, we will soon after be treated to at least one spin-off series.

The first one in the works is being called The Long Night by A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin (much to HBO’s chagrin) and it takes place thousands of years before the events in Game of Thrones, after the golden Age of Heroes. Here is its official description:

“Taking place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, the series chronicles the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour. And only one thing is for sure: from the horrifying secrets of Westeros’s 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.”

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But when will this thing get in front of cameras? HBO programming president Casey Bloys recently spoke with EW, and in their conversations, he revealed it would be hitting production in the early summer. This is about on par with expectations that it would start in the first half of 2019, so we at least have a window here.

This Game of Thrones prequel stars Naomi Watts, Josh Whitehouse, Naomi Ackie, and Denis Gough. It’s being helmed by showrunner Jane Goldman, with the pilot being directed by Jessica Jones‘ SJ Clarkson.

But if you’re expecting this to be a retread of its parent series, think again.

“Westeros is a very different place” Martin told EW. “There’s no King’s Landing. There’s no Iron Throne. There are no Targaryens — Valyria has hardly begun to rise yet with its dragons and the great empire that it built. We’re dealing with a different and older world and hopefully that will be part of the fun of the series.”

Are you looking forward to seeing more Westeros? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: EW