Game of Thrones prequel taps Defenders alum as pilot director; casts Naomi Ackie and more regulars

You may not know all their faces now, but wanna bet they’ll become awfully familiar in the near future? That’s right, HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel, unofficially titled The Long Night, now has a full-fledged cast, and a director too.

According to Deadline, S.J. Clarkson (Marvel’s The Defenders, Jessica Jones), is now seemingly off the untitled Star Trek feature and onto directing and executive-producing the much ballyhooed GOT prequel pilot being written by showrunner Jane Goldman (X-Men: First Class, Kick-Ass) and exec producer George R.R. Martin (who recently promised he's finishing the books upon which the original series is based — if you're inclined to believe such things).

Clarkson will have a slew of young talent to work with as series regulars, too, including Naomie Ackie (who's shown above and was recently cast in a leading role in Star Wars: Episode IX), Denise Gough (The Kid Who Would Be King), Jamie Campbell Bower (The Twilight Saga), Sheila Atim (Harlots), Ivanno Jeremiah (Humans), Georgie Henley (The Chronicles of Narnia), Alex Sharp (How To Talk To Girls At Parties), and Toby Regbo (The Last Kingdom).

They’ll be joining previously cast stars Naomi Watts and Josh Whitehouse on the show, which takes place a thousand years or so before all the bloodshed and incest in the HBO megahit, which will wrap up its eigth and final season later this year.

The Long Night (supposedly) will delve into the history of Westeros, including seven separate kingdoms, the downfall of the golden Age of Heroes, the "true origin of the white walkers," "the mysteries of the East," and "the Starks of legend," according to Deadline. Although apparently it won't have anything to do Targaryens or dragons. 

Of course, we expect the new show to be every bit as shrouded in secrecy as its forebearer, so we'll just have to wait and see how it all shakes out. In the meantime, are you excited for the new additions? Let us know in the comments!