Reports: HBO cancels first 'Game of Thrones' prequel

Oct. 29 (UPI) -- HBO has scrapped the first Game of Thrones prequel series it ordered, unnamed sources revealed Tuesday.

Deadline first reported the news and Variety confirmed, though HBO did not comment.

Naomi Watts starred in a pilot filmed over the summer in Northern Ireland, where the original series filmed some of its scenes. Miranda Richardson, Joshua Whitehouse, Naomi Ackie, Denise Gough, Jamie Campbell Bower and Marquis Rodriguez were among at least 16 announced cast members.

Jane Goldman wrote the pilot and, according to reports, emailed cast and crew to tell them HBO was not moving forward with the series. Goldman's prequel was set during the Age of Heroes, thousands of years before the George R.R. Martin books.

Entertainment Weekly confirmed a Game of Thrones spinoff about the Targaryen civil war is still in development. The Hollywood Reporter added that that series would more closely tie into the beginning of the 2011 series.

Game of Thrones ended this year in its eighth season, winning multiple Emmys for its cast and artists. Some fans criticized the finale of the hit series, feeling its final two episodes were rushed and betrayed its characters. Some even launched a petition to ask HBO to reshoot the final season, but HBO declined to oblige.