Naomi Watts Says Canceled 'Game Of Thrones' Prequel Is A 'Deep Shame'

Naomi Watts can't share much about her much-publicized Game of Thrones prequel, which was canceled by HBO in 2019 after a pilot for the show was filmed.

"I'm sorry," the actress said, according to news.com.au, before sharing her own disappointment about the Jane Goldman-helmed series. “I feel your pain. I equally got into it. I wasn’t a huge fan and hadn’t seen the shows until I was hired and then completely binged everything within the space of a couple of months and it’s just wonderful."

Watts went on to describe the cancelation as a "deep shame." "It would have been great fun, but I am not allowed to give anything away, I’m afraid," she continued.

For its announcement, HBO revealed that the series would “chronicle the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour.” The pilot episode was reportedly already shot and in post-production. The series, which nabbed other stars like Miranda Richardson, Denise Gough and Josh Whitehouse, was set to take place thousands of years before the events of the award-winning original. Sources over at TVLine revealed that the network executives "weren't happy with the finished product and sent Goldman back to fix some issues." Additionally, sources reportedly revealed that the pilot was "troubled" by budget overruns, personnel problems and creative differences.

Even though Watts’ prequel was nixed, there is another prequel in the works called House of Dragon. That series, which will start filming in 2021, will be based on George R.R. Martin's companion novel, Fire & Blood, and detail the rise of House Targaryen 300 years before Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys begins her quest for the throne.

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