Next year, long-running fantasy show Game of Thrones comes to a close with season eight. But, it's not all doom and gloom for fans because there's a prequel series in the works.

And the first casting has been announced. Naomi Watts (Gypsy) is confirmed to star as "a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret," reports Variety.

GoT creator and author George R.R. Martin and Jane Goldman (Kingsman: The Secret Service) have collaborated on the new story, which takes place thousands of years before what we saw go down in Westeros. Goldman will write the script and Martin will act as an executive producer.

The project is currently untitled, but there is a brief synopsis: "And only one thing is for sure: from the horrifying secrets of Westeros’ history to the true origin of the white walkers, the mysteries of the East to the Starks of legend… it’s not the story we think we know."

Martin has confirmed we shouldn't expect to see any of the GoT characters or actors. Which, makes sense considering the timeline gap between the two series.

Over the summer the author was adamant that the next series would be a prequel, explaining on his blog: "This one really puts the PRE in prequel, since it is set not ninety years before GAME OF THRONES (like Dunk & Egg), or a few hundred years, but rather ten thousand years (well, assuming the oral histories of the First Men are accurate, but there are maesters at the Citadel who insist it has only been half that long)."

Okay, we get it, not a sequel, but... when does production start? That's yet to be disclosed, but we'll take the initial casting as a sign that it may be sooner than later.

We just saw Watts in the 2017 psychological thriller Gypsy. In case you missed it, here's a look at the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y67_16zSMwk

Has Naomi Watts' casting gotten you excited for what's to come?