Emilia Clarke Responds to Canceled 'Game of Thrones' Prequel News

A Game of Thrones prequel is no longer moving forward at HBO, with the show having been canceled after filming a pilot earlier this year. Emilia Clarke, who starred on Game of Thrones, shared her reaction to the news on Tuesday night, musing that HBO likely had good reason for the decision.

"I'm not really too sure [what happened]," she told Entertainment Tonight at the premiere of her upcoming movie, Last Christmas. "It's difficult to get stuff made. I wonder. Maybe it'll be reincarnated at some point, but if it wasn't meant to happen now, then I'm sure it's because they know that it wasn't going to be as perfect as it should have been."

Clarke starred as Daenerys Targaryen on the massively popular HBO drama, which ended this past year. Rumors of five spinoff series had been floated at HBO and A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin had previously said that three were edging toward reality, though it seems one of those three is no longer moving forward.

The recently canceled prequel was set thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones and was to focus on Westeros' Age of Heroes and the nation's descent into the Long Night. The show starred Naomi Watts and had filmed a pilot in Northern Ireland earlier this year.

While this prequel has been scrapped, HBO is reportedly moving forward with a second spinoff focusing on the Targaryen family. The series is titled House of the Dragon and has received a full series order, which HBO programming president Casey Bloys announced at WarnerMedia Day on Tuesday.

House of the Dragon is set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones and is based on Martin's fictional history book Fire and Blood, which follows the Targaryens. The show was created by Martin and Ryan Condal, and Miguel Sapochnik will direct the pilot and additional episodes. Martin and Condal will also write the script for the show, which has a 10-episode order.

"The Game of Thrones universe is so rich with stories," Bloys said, via The Hollywood Reporter. "We look forward to exploring the origins of House Targaryen and the earlier days of Westeros along with Miguel, Ryan and George."

House of the Dragon is reportedly not one of the original set of prequels that HBO had floated in 2017, so it remains to be seen which of the other projects, if any, will make it to screen.

Photo Credit: Getty / Roy Rochlin