HBO abandons Game of Thrones prequel

LOS ANGELES – The Game of Thrones prequel television series starring Naomi Watts has been ditched by cable channel HBO, Hollywood media reported on Tuesday.

Deadline, Entertainment Weekly and Variety all cited sources as saying that HBO had decided not to go ahead with the series co-created by author George R.R. Martin.

HBO declined to comment on the reports.

A pilot, or first episode, for the show, was shot in Northern Ireland earlier this year. The story is set thousands of years before the events covered in medieval fantasy Game of Thrones.

Deadline said executive producer Jane Goldman had been emailing the cast and crew to tell them the project was not being picked up by HBO, a unit of AT&T’s Warner Media (T.N). Variety and Entertainment Weekly said they had confirmed the news with industry sources.

The reason for the decision was unclear.

Casey Bloys, president of programming at HBO, had told reporters in July after filming finished on the pilot episode that he was pleased with what he had seen.

“It looks really good. The cast was amazing,” Bloys said at a Television Critics Association event in Beverly Hills.

The final season of Game of Thrones won 12 Emmy awards, including the top prize of best drama series, in September.

The pilot for the prequel was one of several Game of Thrones related projects that were put into development at HBO prior to the end of the series. (Reuters)