A new Game of Thrones prequel is set to dramatize the events of Robert’s Rebellion, and debut on the UK stage this summer.
Game of Thrones: The Mad King is a new collaboration between franchise creator George R.R. Martin and the UK’s Royal Shakespeare Company, written by Duncan Macmillan and directed by Dominic Cooke. Tickets are set to go on sale in April.
The play will tell the story of a crucial period in Westeros history, around 15 years before the original Game of Thrones book and TV series, when King Aerys II Targaryen was overthrown and Robert Baratheon took over, backed by the Starks and Lannisters.
The events of Robert’s Rebellion will be familiar to A Song of Ice and Fire fans, as the brief civil war is frequently referenced, and indeed acts as essentially the catalyst for the events of the main Game of Thrones narrative.
Key participants include Robert and Stannis Baratheon, Ned Stark and Tywin Lannister, who take arms against King Aerys and Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. It is of course Jaime Lannister who eventually kills Aerys, earning himself the nickname of Kingslayer. Notably, the time period ends with the birth of both Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow — the latter of whom has his true parentage hidden.
“A long winter thaws in Harrenhal, and spring is promised,” reads an official blurb. “At a lavish banquet on the eve of a jousting tournament, lovers meet and revelers speculate about who will contend. But in the shadows, amid growing unease at the bloodthirsty actions of the realm’s merciless Mad King, dissenters from his inner circle anxiously advance a treasonous plot. Far away, the drums of battle sound.
“Family bonds, ancient prophecies, and the sacred line of succession will be tested in a dangerous campaign for power. Who will survive? Who will rise? ‘Wars aren’t won by those with most cause, but whose story’s best told.'”
The announcement of a Game of Thrones prequel stage show — with events and characters that will also be familiar to existing fans — follows the successful launch of Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which offers a similar concept. That is now playing in both London and New York, and includes a handful of extra plot details that TV viewers will likely find interesting. A filmed version for Netflix is also on the way.
“When I first wrote Game of Thrones, I never imagined that it would be anything other than a book,” George R.R. Martin said in an accompanying statement. “It was a place for my imagination to exist without limits. To my great surprise, it was adapted for a series and viewers have been able to enter the world of my imagination through the medium of television. For my work to now be adapted for the stage is something I did not expect but welcome with great enthusiasm and excitement. Theater offers something unique. A place for mine and the audience’s imagination to meet and hopefully create something magical.”
While the main Game of Thrones TV series has now long since ended, its wider franchise is continuing on with gusto. The very well received prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is wrapping up the end of its first season with a second already confirmed. Meanwhile, HBO has begun teasing the upcoming third season of its other prequel series House of the Dragon.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
