Listen, I think we can all be totally honest now about missing the thrill of the golden age of Game of Thrones as it aired on HBO. And, whether you have a series of negative feelings about the final season or not, you probably truly enjoyed much of what led up to that, highly controversial, set of episodes in 2019. Well, prepare yourselves, because Game of Thrones is now bringing some of its beloved characters back in a completely unexpected way: with a new stage production!
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Game of Thrones mastermind himself, George R.R. Martin, is now working on a live stage show for Broadway, London's West End, and Australia, which will almost certainly bring back some of the characters we loved, and loved to hate, from the series. Martin is working with award-winning playwright Duncan MacMillan (1984), as well as acclaimed director Dominic Cooke (The Courier), on the stage show, which comes from producers Simon Painter and Tim Lawson (The Illusionists).
While this already sounds plenty intriguing, the production is said to focus on an event from GOT lore which has never been shown or deeply explored. Get ready to find out a lot more about The Great Tourney at Harrenhal! The show's official description says:
The play will for the first time take audiences deeper behind the scenes of a landmark event that previously was shrouded in mystery. Featuring many of the most iconic and well-known characters from the series, the production will boast a story centered around love, vengeance, madness and the dangers of dealing in prophecy, in the process revealing secrets and lies that have only been hinted at until now.
Oooh. Understandably, it would be great if this were actually one of the Game of Thrones TV prequels which are in development, but getting this story in any way sounds like it will be a boon for the fandom. The currently still untitled play will be set during this major contest, which happened only 16 years before the events shown in Season 1 of the series. The Great Tourney at Harrenhal was held by Lord Walter Whent over the course of 10 days, and had several competitions, including those for jousting, archery, axe-throwing, singing and more.
But, one of the main draws for fans will be the participants who were confirmed to be there, according to George R. R. Martin's books. These include young versions of Ned and Lyanna Stark, Jaime Lannister, Robert Baratheon, Rhaegar Targaryen, Oberyn Martell, and many more fan favorites. There are also several other popular characters who could have been involved in the tournament, though keep in mind that no characters have been confirmed to appear just yet.
Aside from the fact that a lot of major characters were involved in The Great Tourney at Harrenhal, it's also an important event which helped to set off the events we saw at the beginning of the series. The end of this contest was when Rhaegar decided to make his love for Robert's betrothed, Lyanna, public, which in turn led to Robert's Rebellion and those dragon-loving Targaryens being kicked out of Westeros.
Even though many of you will likely bemoan the fact that Martin still hasn't finished the novels which started this whole world, he's clearly excited for this new project, and noted that "it ought to be spectacular" when it finally debuts, which isn't expected to happen until 2023. The writer also recently signed a new deal with HBO to develop tons of new shows for either that cabler or HBO Max, with Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon already greenlit and planned for a 2022 premiere.
We'll keep you up to date on all of the upcoming Game of Thrones TV shows, books, and other projects, but in the meantime, feel free to check out what's coming to the small screen with our 2021 TV premiere guide!
