Game of Thrones Prequel Series Being Discussed, HBO Boss Says

"It's still kind of preliminary, ongoing talks."

[UPDATE] HBO boss Casey Bloys made more comments about a Game of Thrones prequel in an interview with The Wrap.

"We've talked very, very kind of high-level, like, 'Oh, that would be interesting, a prequel would be interesting, are there areas that make more sense?' But we haven't--no one has put pen to paper--yet," Bloys said. "It's still pretty early on."

"It's such a great world and it's such a great property, we'd be crazy not to at least explore the idea of some sort of prequel or whatever you want to call it," he went on to say. "So, we are thinking about it, talking about it, but nothing really of note to report just yet."

The original story is below.

With Game of Thrones expected to wrap up after its eighth season, fans of the series might be wondering what could come after that. There have been talks of possible spinoffs, including a prequel series. Now, HBO boss Casey Bloys has commented on the status of a prequel project.

Asked by Entertainment Weekly if talks with author George R.R. Martin have yielded a specific idea that could eventually get made, Bloys confirmed talks were ongoing. However, he didn't get into specifics.

"I would say it's still kind of preliminary, ongoing talks," he said. "There are areas we are exploring but I wouldn't point to any one and say, 'This is what we're going to do.'"

Also in the interview, Bloys was asked if the final hours of Game of Thrones could be shown in theaters. He teased in response, "I want everything I can get for HBO, let me put it that way."

In September, Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss said they likely won't be part of a potential prequel series, though they expect the franchise to live on.

That was not the first time the subject of a Game of Thrones spinoff came up. Benioff and Weiss said in July that the franchise is so rich and deep that there are countless storytelling opportunities.

"One of the great things about what [Martin] did is he didn't just build a story; he built a world with so many characters and such a rich, detailed history behind it," the pair explained. "There are a lot of different ways you could go with it; we just really haven't had time to really think through the details of it because we're so focused on getting the show made."

Game of Thrones Season 7 will premiere later than usual; rather than April, it'll instead debut sometime during the summer of 2017. It'll be shorter than past seasons, too, running only seven episodes. The first Season 7 teaser was released during San Diego Comic-Con and can be seen here.

In other news about Season 7, HBO has confirmed that Harry Potter actor Jim Broadbent will play a "significant" role in the season.