As the team behind Game of Thrones prepare to unleash their latest season on the world, HBO is looking into the past, with plans for a prequel.
HBO programming president Casey Bloys told Entertainment Weekly they're taking their time making sure they do it right.
"I wanted to make sure fans know this is a really embryonic process," he said.
"This is a long-term plan. Our number one goal is the seventh season this summer and getting the eighth season written and aired."
Bloys addressed rumours that there would be four spinoffs, after reports author George R.R. Martin was working with different writers to develop different shows set in different Westeros time periods.
"The idea is not to do four shows," he said.
"The bar set by [current showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] is so high that my hope is to get one show that lives up to it.
"We have some amazing writers who want to take a shot at this. They're also looking at different times in the universe and all will have different feels. This increases our odds of finding one that's unique."
Bloys also said Benioff and Weiss wouldn't be involved in any prequels.
"By the time the final season airs, Dan and David will have been at this for 12 years," he said.
"They feel if their name is on the prequels - even in a passive way - it conveys some sort of expectation or responsibility.
"They want to enjoy the show as fans and don't want to worry about the scripts or production issues. We were hoping to have their names on it out of respect for them, but we understand why they don't want that."
Fortunately for fans, the final season will go out with a bang.
"One of the hallmarks of the show has been how cinematic is it," Bloys said.
"When you see these battles in season seven, and what I imagine season eight will be, it's a big, big show."
Newshub.
