GoT fans pumped for shock new prequel House of the Dragon

HBO has breathed new life into its Game of Thrones legend, with the surprise announcement of a new prequel set to air exclusively in Australia on Foxtel.

HBO has breathed new life into its Game of Thrones legend, with the surprise announcement of a prequel, House of the Dragon – set to air exclusively in Australia on Foxtel.

The 10-episode spin-off will draw its story from author George RR Martin’s bestseller, Fire and Blood – expanding on the family history of ‘mad’ queen Daenerys Targaryen, who was brought to life on the small screen by Emilia Clarke.

House of the Dragon — which focuses on the Targaryen family — will air on Foxtel.

The shock TV update comes at a cost to another GoT spin-off, which was set to star Naomi Watts, which apparently failed to impress at the pilot stage and will not proceed to a full series.

Watts had filmed test episodes for the project earlier this year, and was intended to focus on the ‘Age of Heroes’ and how the terrifying White Walkers came to torment the kingdom of Westeros.

Naomi Watts was filming another GoT prequel, which has been cancelled. Picture: AFP

According to industry site, Tvline.com, “the pilot was troubled by budget overruns, numerous personal issues and myriad creative differences.”

The production’s showrunner Jane Goldman emailed cast and crew to advise them the project was cancelled.

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Meanwhile, the successful prequel will begin 300 years prior to the action played

out in the first season of GoT.

Miguel Sapochnik, who was at the helm of famed episodes ‘Battle of the Bastards,’ ‘Hardhome,’ and ‘The Long Night,’ will direct the 10-parter, with Martin

and Ryan Condal as executive producers.

The series will expand on the family history of Daenerys Targaryen. Picture: Helen Sloan/HBO

Fans of GoT have rejoiced at the news across social media, especially the attachment of its co-creator and author of the original source material – with many still smarting over the final series devised by GoT showrunners, David Benioff and D.B Weiss.

They will not be part of the latest GoT tale, committed to producing new content for Netflix after signing a $200 million deal.

No air date for House of the Dragon has yet been announced.