Image Credit: HBO
The next adaptation of Game of Thrones will be for the theater. According to reports, the author of the literary saga, George RR Martin, will bring his story to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the flagship theater of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
A prequel focused on the Mad King, who was only briefly touched upon in Game of Thrones through the stories of its protagonists who had dealings with the character, is therefore in development. Specifically, the play will be set 15 years before the events of the first season of GoT, during the so-called Tournament of Harrenhal. The prequel will feature familiar faces including Ned Stark, Jamie Lannister, and Robert Baratheon, described as the “main characters” of the play.
In essence, we will see the main heroes of the series, but younger. “One of our ambitions is to create a show that is truly suitable for those who are unfamiliar with the material, those who are familiar with it, and everyone in between,” said Dominic Cooke, a theater veteran who has been given the task of developing the play. “Obviously, there will be people who come and don’t know it, and we want to offer them a satisfying evening as well.”
Cooke added that it will be a Romeo and Juliet-style story between Lyanna and Rhaegar Targaryen, son of Aerys, the Mad King. Describing Lyanna herself, Cooke notes: “She’s a great swordswoman, so she doesn’t exactly fit the mold of women of that time. But she’s also very intuitive and intelligent, and she’s an explosive person. She has a rebellious side, and like everyone else in that world, if you’re part of these wealthy families, you have to conform. And it’s a bit like Shakespeare.”
Regarding the age of the protagonists, Cooke states that “The main characters, apart from the king, are all in their twenties. Think of Ned, played by Sean Bean in the TV series, and we play him as a twenty-year-old. So it’s interesting to see them as young people. Part of the essence of this series is a story of growth, of rites of passage, of people becoming who they are.” Tickets for the Game of Thrones prequel stage play will go on sale in April 2026.
SOURCE: ComicBookMovie
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