Game Of Thrones prequel casts Naomi Watts in lead role

This is a huge coup

Think back to the start of Season One of Game Of Thrones, and how big it seemed that someone of the stature of Sean Bean would be in this show (especially considering what would become of him). Jump forward a few years, and we see that not only has GOT made huge stars out of its central actors, but many big names are more than happy to be involved with the show. Which probably explains why two time Oscar-nominee Naomi Watts has been landed as one of the lead actors in the upcoming Game Of Thrones prequel. Watts, who has been up for Best Actress for 21 Grams and Best Supporting Actress for The Impossible, is no stranger to TV work, having kicked off her career in Home & Away, and more recently appeared in Netflix psychological thriller Gypsy, as well as the return to Twin Peaks. You may also recognise her from the 2005 remake of King Kong, or as the lead character from the US remake of The Ring. According to the report by Variety, all that is known about Watts' character so far is that she is "a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret". So... a Game Of Thrones character, then? Watts will be appearing in the prequel written by Jane Goldman (Kingsman, Kick-Ass), which is just one of five potential Game Of Thrones prequels currently in the works at HBO. This particular spin-off will answer a lot of questions fans might have about the current GOT set-up: "Taking place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, the series chronicles the world’s descent from the Golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour. And only one thing is for sure: 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… it’s not the story we think we know." There is no set release date for the new GOT prequel, nor is there an official release date for the final season of the current show, although it is expected around April 2019.