Game of Thrones

So, just ew. On everything after Dany’s death.

I think this last season was rushed

Game of Thrones took its final bow last night after eight thrilling seasons.

But with a prequel already announced, fans don't have to wait too long until their Westeros-shaped hole is filled once again.

Here's everything we know about it - from the title to the casting line-up and everything in between.

There's no official title yet but a couple have been brandished about over the last few months.

According to some reports it's being referred to as Bloodmoon by those working on the set in Belfast.

George RR Martin, the author and creator of Game of Thrones, previously referred to the pilot as The Long Night - but had to backtrack and state that the show is still untitled.

The Long Night was the name of episode three in season eight of Game of Thrones, when the Night King rocked up at Westeros.

When is it set?
Whatever it's called, the show will be set around 5,000 years before events in Game of Thrones.

That means none of the characters we've come to love and hate over the last eight years will even be alive yet.

But there is one exception.

The Night King, played by Slovak actor Vladimir Furdik, will feature in the prequel.

Which brings us on to the next point...

The series "chronicles the world's descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour", according to HBO.

"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, only one thing is for sure: it's not the story we think we know."

The Age of Heroes refers to the period of time when the Children of the Forest made a pact with the First Men, which brought about peace.

And the "darkest hour" is a reference to The Long Night, which is when the White Walkers first descended on the world, disturbing that peace and bringing the savage winter that lasted for years.

So it looks like we'll finally get an origin story for the Night King, and potentially something about the Stark/Lannister back story.

The prequel takes place when Bran the Builder, the Stark ancestor who built both Winterfell and the Wall, was alive.

And with Lann the Clever who founded House Lannister also around during this time there's a chance we'll get some background to the famous rivalry.

"You're looking at a whole different era of Westeros," George RR Martin told the Hollywood Reporter last month.

"No dragons, no Iron Throne, no King's Landing."

Oscar nominee Naomi Watts, who's starred in things like King Kong, is the biggest name signed up to the prequel so far and was the first to be confirmed.

She's been cast in a leading role as "a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret".

Fans are speculating that she could be playing Nissa Nissa - the wife of legendary hero Azor Ahai who's known for wielding a burning sword called Lightbringer - although that is still unconfirmed.

Naomi isn't the only Oscar nominee to bag a role - Miranda Richardson, who played journalist Rita Skeeter in Harry Potter, has also been confirmed.

Jamie Campbell Bower, aka the young Gellert Grindelwald in the first Deathly Hallows and Fantastic Beasts, is also taking a part, as is John Simm - The Master on Doctor Who - and Georgie Henley, or Lucy from The Chronicles of Narnia.

The full list is available on IMDB, but we'll have to wait to learn which specific characters they'll all be playing.


HBO's Casey Bloys told The Hollywood Reporter "there's no timetable", adding: "If we do a pilot and series, nothing is going to air on HBO until at least a year after the final season."

So that means May 2020 at the earliest.

But we may need that long to recover from season eight anyway...

Its long-awaited finale has been and gone but Game of Thrones is still big business for Northern Ireland.

It is estimated to have brought £251m into the economy since production began in 2010, according to the region's film agency NI Screen.

Over the same period, the organisation gave £15.95m in production funding to the hit fantasy drama series.

But that was a worthwhile investment, says NI Screen's chief executive Richard Williams.

"It's been a game changer for the screen industry," he said.

"This is the biggest show of the decade and certainly within industry terms everyone knows that it's being made in Northern Ireland.

"That has revolutionised our standing in the screen industry all around the world."

On what the future holds for filmmaking in Northern Ireland, Mr Williams says "If we can't collectively sell the supply chain that was behind Game of Thrones, the crew, the studio, well then what can we sell?"

Figures from Tourism NI, the region's tourism development body, paint a similarly upbeat picture.

They suggest that 350,000 people come to Northern Ireland every year just for Game of Thrones - that is one in six leisure visitors.

It is estimated they spend £50m each year.

Female characters in Game of Thrones speak about three times less than male characters in the show, according to new data.

Although the hugely popular show ended this week after eight seasons, the debate on how it represented women will continue.

The data suggests that across all eight seasons, male speech amounts to about 75% of all speaking time in the series.

It was compiled by research group Ceretai for BBC 100 Women.

For instance, by the end of series seven, Ned Stark - who did not make it past the first season - still had more lines attributed to him than to both Margaery Tyrell and Melisandre.

If you don't continue this nastiness, I won't either.

So a reputable news report that rocks your fragile masculinity is modern political drivel.

That's really quite pathetic.

The post wasn't addressed to you, you didn't have to respond, and you certainly didn't have to respond in such a repulsive misogynistic manner.

You like to present yourself as a Trump supporter who is not a bigot, yet when push comes to shove you use homophobic language to make a point.