After the controversial series finale of "Game of Thrones," news of a prequel has sparked excitement among fans. Some cast choices, such as Naomi Watts, Naomi Ackie, and Josh Whitehouse have already been released, but the newest addition to the team is 61-year-old actress Miranda Richardson. Best known for her role as Rita Skeeter in the "Harry Potter" series, Richardson will head to Belfast, Ireland in the coming months to begin filming "Bloodmoon." Penned by George R.R. Martin and screenwriter Jane Goldman, the show is provisionally titled and doesn't have an official name yet.

The plot and setting

The show will take place 5,000 years before the original "Game of Thrones." That means the only character fans will already know is the Night King, played by Vladimir Furdik. According to HBO executives, it will cover Westeros's history, the true origin of the White Walkers, and the beginnings of great houses such as the Starks and the Lannisters.

In this timeline, Bran the Builder and Lann the Clever are alive and well. Bran is a Stark ancestor who built the infamous Wall and founded Winterfell, and Lann is the beginning of the family who always pays its debts. Set in the Golden Age of Heroes, it will follow the continent's descent into the Dark Ages and will feature the First Men and the Children of the Forest.

This means that fans may get some answers to their burning questions that were left unanswered by the "Game of Thrones" finale.

More Game of Thrones spin-offs

Even though George R.R. Martin has not finished writing the last two books in the "Game of Thrones" series, he has already agreed to partake in at least five spin-offs with HBO.

Three of those are rumored to already in pre-production, but no details have been released yet. The busy author is also said to have a show with Hulu and one with the History Channel coming up as well.

Air dates have not even been announced, at this time, but "Bloodmoon" is expected to begin filming this year. Fans could get to see it by the end of 2020, at the earliest.

Rumors of one prequel being Robert's Rebellion will most likely never come to fruition. However, the prequels could cover the reign of Daenery's great-grandfather, King Aegon Targaryen the Fifth. This would take place about 90 years before the original "Game of Thrones" and could offer valuable insight into how the chessboard was set for the story.

The writers have a lot of material to pull from if they look for stories inside any of Martin's Westerosi history books. Released in 2014, "The World of Ice & Fire" presents backstories for all of the great houses. Furthermore, the 800-page companion book "Fire & Blood" showcases the Targaryen bloodline and how they conquered Westeros. Fans will just have to wait to see what the producers come up within the coming months.
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