Credit: Game of Thrones / HBO

Even before the eighth and final season of Game of Thronesa fitting prequel was in the pipeline. In January, a cast including Naomi Watts was announced and only in the last handful of months was George R.R. Martin speaking of its synopsis. The new content was set to cover 5,000 years before the events of the OG series and was one of many scripts commissioned by HBO. New reports have revealed however, that the forthcoming series has since been cancelled.

Dubbed Age of Heroes, the pilot was screened to network executives recently after a lengthy and expectedly expensive production production, and despite this it will not go ahead, according to DeadlineWhile the news is grim, there is a bright side. GoT fans will receive another prequel titled House of the Dragon, announced via Twitter overnight. Based on the author’s novel Fire & Blood, it will be set 300 years before the events of the Emilia Clarke and Kit Harrington-led saga and focus on the rise and fall of the House Targaryen.

As of yet, there is no word on a release date, but it is known that  Miguel Sapochnik – behind six previous GoT episodes – and Ryan Condal will act as show runners alongside producers George R.R. Martin and Vince Gerardis.

For further developments, stay tuned. In the meantime, here are five thoughts from someone who has never watched Game of Thrones – shocking, I know.