‘Game of Thrones’ Creator George R.R. Martin Reveals the Title He Wants for New Prequel Series

George R.R. Martin has addressed the new Game of Thrones prequel that HBO just greenlit, revealing his hope for the show’s title.

Martin wrote — and is hopefully still writing — the series of novels called A Song of Ice and Fire, on which Game of Thrones is based. He has worked closely with that show’s creators, and apparently intends to do the same with the various spin-offs that HBO currently has in development.

On Monday, Martin addressed the news of the prequel series, which dominated the news cycle all weekend, in his personal blog. HBO ordered a pilot for one of the three spin-offs they are reportedly developing — one that is set thousands of years before the events of the series, during the first appearance of the White Walkers.

On his personal blog, Martin expressed excitement that the process was moving forward. He admitted that he could offer few details that weren’t in every other report online, but he did discuss his thoughts on a title for the new show.

“We’re very early in the process, of course, with the pilot order just in, so we don’t have a director yet, or a cast, or a location, or even a title,” he wrote. “(My vote would be THE LONG NIGHT, which says it all, but I’d be surprised if that’s where we end up. More likely HBO will want to work the phrase “game of thrones” in there somewhere. We’ll know sooner or later).”

“The long night” is how the characters in Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire typically refer to the White Walkers’ first appearance, thousands of years back in their fictional history. The era is shrouded in mystery, and some characters speculate that it never even happened. Martin discussed this as well in his post.

“Yes, this is a prequel, not a sequel,” he wrote. “None of the characters or actors from GAME OF THRONES will appear in the new show. All of the successor shows we’ve been developing have been prequels, as I have mentioned before.”

“This one really puts the PRE in prequel, since it is set not ninety years before GAME OF THRONES (like Dunk & Egg), or a few hundred years, but rather ten thousand years (well, assuming the oral histories of the First Men are accurate, but there are maesters at the Citadel who insist it has only been half that long).”

Martin said that one of the five Game of Thrones spin-offs has already been “shelved,” while the others are still in “active development.” Finally, Martin ended his post with another vague update on Winds of Winter, the forthcoming sixth novel in A Song of Ice and Fire, which fans have been waiting for since 2011.

“And yes, before you ask, work on WINDS OF WINTER continues, and remains my top priority,” he wrote. “It is ridiculous to think otherwise. If I wasn’t busy with WINDS, don’t you think I’d be scripting one or more of these pilots myself? It’s not as if I’ve never written for TV.”

Martin’s newest book, Fire & Blood, is due out this November.