Naomi Watts reveals ‘pain’ over the shock cancellation of the Game Of Thrones prequel

Naomi Watts has been left devastated by the cancellation of the highly anticipated Game Of Thrones prequel. 

The actress, who had already filmed the pilot for the spin-off, in which she was set to play the starring role, said she felt the ‘pain’ of die hard fans. 

‘I feel your pain. I equally got into it. I wasn’t a huge fan and hadn’t seen the shows until I was hired and then completely binged everything within the space of a couple of months and it’s just wonderful,’ the Birdman star told News.com.au.

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Naomi, 52, said that while she was disappointed that HBO axed the prequel spin-off, she’s still grateful to have work in Hollywood.  

The former Home and Away star recalled how she was ‘late to the party’ in Hollywood and only started getting real, meatier roles in her late 20s and 30s.  

‘Everything changed after Mulholland Drive [2001] but I had that narrative in my head that it’s all going to be over at 40 and once you hit that mark, it’s done. So, I was thinking “Oh, my God — I finally got here and I only have a few short years left”. But here we are — it’s not the case and things have evolved,’ Naomi explained. 

The GOT spin-off series was being headed up by Jane Goldman and it looked as if it was a sure deal, but HBO decided the untitled show would not advance further, The Hollywood Reporter reported in October.

Goldman shared the news via an e-mail to the cast, the site claimed.

The series was supposed to to focus on the Age of Heroes and the first battle between man and White Walker. 

Instead, it looks as though HBO will produce another pilot set in the Game Of Thrones world, only this time with author George R.R. Martin and Ryan J. Condal.  

‘The series is said to focus on the reign of Targaryen kings in the lead-up to the events of Game of Thrones, aligning the vision of the project much more closely to the days of Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) than the now scrapped Naomi Watts-starring prequel,’ the Reporter claimed.

GOT wrapped its final season in May. The season garnered some of its worst reviews and ratings, but still went on to win Emmys in September.

Naomi had worked hard to prepare for the prequel. 

She said she had not seen the original show before accepting her role in the spin-off, but tore through all eight seasons within three months after becoming ‘hooked’.

‘I didn’t start watching until I was approached about this job. But my brother [the photographer, Ben Watts], who is heavily into it, told me, ‘Under no circumstances are you going to turn this down,’ she told Net-A-Porter’s PorterEdit magazine.

Naomi noted that as soon as she began watching the show, she ‘was in – hook, line and sinker’. 

She also said that she knew that the show would increase her fame. 

‘I still have fears about that. I don’t really know what to prepare for,’ she said. 

The Game of Thrones prequel was believed to be called Bloodmoon.

It was supposed to be set more than five thousand years before the events of the main series, following the story of the Children Of The Forest.