HBO has officially picked up a pilot for one of the five Game of Thrones prequels it's currently developing. The story is to take place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, says the premium cable channel.

HBO didn't make it clear when the pilot will grace our TV screens.

Age Of Heroes Prequel Set At HBO

George R. R. Martin, who wrote the Game of Thrones series of books, created the story for the pilot in question, along with Kingsman and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children scribe Jane Goldman. She will also serve as showrunner for the series if HBO orders it.

Details are scarce at the moment, but The Hollywood Reporter says the series will be set in the fabled "Age of Heroes."

Game of Thrones is HBO's most popular show to date, but it knows that won't last forever. The show only has one season left, and the cable company is pressured to come up with something that'll tide fans of the franchise over once the show goes off the air. It's precisely this level of pressure why it laid out a plan last year to develop several ideas for prequels. Current Game of Thrones executive producers Dan Weiss and David Benioff won't have anything to do with the prequels, however, even though HBO had said the opposite last year.

Don't Get Excited Yet

Do note that a pilot order is just for a pilot — the first episode of a series. Executives will then decide if they're going to proceed with a full season order. Whether this ends up being one of the projects HBO picks up, the cable company will surely be selective since picking any of them up would prove a massive investment. Just for comparison, each of the final six episodes of Game of Thrones reportedly will cost $15 million to produce.

By making the prequels, HBO is also following the footsteps of other networks: AMC made Fear the Walking Dead while The Walking Dead continued to pull in phenomenal ratings, and it premiered Better Call Saul once Breaking Bad went off the air. A fanbase as loyal as the one reserved for Game of Thrones is hard to come by these days, and HBO is wise to keep those eyes glued to the screen long after the show is gone.

Would you watch a Game of Thrones prequel series? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!