Naomi Watts is Westeros bound. The two-time Oscar nominee has signed on to star in an untitled “Game of Thrones” prequel, Deadline confirms. The project hails from “X-Men: First Class” scribe Jane Goldman and “Game of Thrones” author and co-executive producer George R.R. Martin. The former will serve as showrunner.
Currently untitled, the HBO project is set thousands of years before “Game of Thrones” and “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’ 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,” the source hints.
Watts, whose recent small screen credits include “Twin Peaks” and “Gypsy,” will be playing “a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret.”
“Game of Thrones” has a terrible track record when it comes to hiring women writers and directors. The fact that a woman will be steering the prequel is a positive sign of things to come for the project.
Watts was last seen on the big screen in “Ophelia,” a re-imagining of “Hamlet” helmed by Claire McCarthy (“The Waiting City”). She received Oscar nods for “The Impossible” and “21 Grams.”
“There’s a good change going on for female roles. It definitely seems like there’s a greater willingness to make female-driven stories, so there are better things available,” Watts said last year. “We’re literally witnessing that change, as we speak, so that’s encouraging. I’m just always looking to change it up a bit. What did I do last? Did I get that out of my system? What is this going to lead me to next? It’s not that you’ve got a whole master plan, but you find yourself wanting to find different things, as much as possible.”
