Game of Thrones prequel pilot starring Naomi Watts is not moving forward at HBO

Deadline

The prequel pilot written by Jane Goldman is "no longer happening," reports Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. "Showrunner Goldman has been emailing the cast and crew of the project to tell them that the pilot is dead, we hear. The development has not been confirmed by HBO." The Goldman pilot that George R.R. Martin liked to refer to as "The Long Night" was filmed over the summer. It was the first Game of Thrones prequel project to be given the greenlight, back in June 2018. "Word of the pilot, penned by Goldman and directed by S.J. Clarkson, not going forward comes after a lengthy post-production and rumors about issues during filming in Northern Ireland," reports Andreeva, adding: "That is not altogether unheard of for a production of such scope — hardcore fans of the Emmy-winning mothership series will recollect that the $10 million pilot for the David Benioff and D.B. Weiss-created show had a rocky road too. The duo and others have admitted that the original GoT pilot was a mess that required to be almost entirely re-shot at great expense before HBO execs would give the go-ahead to take the project to series." According to TVLine's Michael Ausiello, "HBO execs screened the pilot over the summer and were not thrilled with the results. Instead of passing, however, they sent Goldman and Co. back into the editing room to make a slew of changes. But the revamped pilot failed to impress the execs either, leading them to pull the plug altogether." The news comes one month after reports that HBO was close to ordering a Game of Thrones prequel pilot on the Targaryens.