Game of Thrones will be back with a new series titled House of The Dragon.

Ten episodes of the series have been ordered by HBO, which has been searching for a spinoff after the finale to its wildly popular series screened in May.

Here's what we know so far

It will tell the story of House Targaryen 300 years before the event of Game of Thrones.

The series has been created by original author George R R Martin and Ryan Condal.

Regular Game of Thrones director Miguel Sapochnik (who you might know from iconic episodes like Hardhome and Battle of the Bastards) will act as co-showrunner with Condal.

"The Game of Thrones universe is so rich with stories," president of HBO programming Casey Bloys said, according to Variety.

"We look forward to exploring the origins of House Targaryen and the earlier days of Westeros along with Miguel, Ryan and George."

The series looks like it will be the flagship offering of HBO's new streaming service, HBO Max, which is due to launch in May.

Here's what we *don't* know

Almost everything else.

Unlike the other prequel that was in the works (we'll get to that…), there are no actors attached, no filming locations revealed and scant story details.

Entertainment Weekly reports the series will cover the events leading up to The Dance of Dragons, the Targaryen civil war that split the house that united the Seven Kingdoms.

A whole swathe of dragons also died during the war, so it's safe to expect the series will have a healthy CGI budget to bring them to life.

Hours earlier, HBO axed its other Thrones prequel…

Naomi Watts won't be showing up in Westeros anytime soon. ( Reuters: Eduardo Munoz )

…reportedly after filming only one pilot episode.

In the months after the finale of Game of Thrones, the series seemed like the most promising of the five "successor shows" Martin said were in development.

It was supposed to be set thousands of years before the story told in the original TV series and focus on the origins of the White Walkers.

Australian actress Naomi Watts was one of a large cast confirmed to appear, and the series was written by Jane Goldman.

It wasn't the only Game of Thrones-related axing of the day

Original Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and DB Weiss quit their Star Wars trilogy.

David Benioff and DB Weiss helmed Game of Thrones for eight seasons. ( AP: Chris Pizzello )

Officially, the masterminds behind the original series said they needed to concentrate on their TV and film deal with Netflix, which is reportedly worth $200 million.

"We love Star Wars. When George Lucas built it, he built us too," Benioff and Weiss said in a statement late on Monday.

"But there are only so many hours in the day, and we felt we could not do justice to both Star Wars and our Netflix projects. So we are regretfully stepping away."

The pair were expected to deliver a new trilogy of Star Wars films that would carry the torch once the Skywalker Saga wraps up with The Rise of Skywalker later this year.

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy in a statement called Benioff and Weiss "remarkable storytellers".

"We hope to include them in the journey forward when they are able to step away from their busy schedule to focus on Star Wars," she added.

The news dropped at an awkward time for the pair.

Game of Thrones' final season wasn't well-received (despite taking home the Emmy for Best Drama this year).

And at the weekend, they held a Q&A session at the Austin Film Festival that left fans furious, because it seemed to confirm many of their long-held fears about the show's direction when it was on the air.

At the panel, Benioff and Weiss reportedly said they didn't try to understand major elements from the books, didn't have a writer's room and treated the experience like "an expensive film school".

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Don't panic if you're a Star Wars fan

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 2 minutes 3 seconds 2 m 3 s It's not clear who'll be in charge of the next Star Wars films after The Rise of Skywalker.

The Force Awakens made more than $2 billion. The Last Jedi more than $1 billion.

Star Wars is as close to a golden goose as Disney's got, and it's got a few very shiny geese in its stable.

But after Rogue One and Solo didn't quite measure up, the House of Mouse is already committed to giving everyone a break from yearly releases of Star Wars movies.

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker drops later this year and will be the last movie for a little while. ( Supplied: Lucasfilm via AP )

Despite the news about Benioff and Weiss' trilogy, no-one is in danger of being short of Star Wars anytime soon.

The Mandalorian is about to be the flagship show for Disney's new streaming service, with indications it lives up to the hype. There's another series in production featuring Cassian Andor, the spy played by Diego Luna in Rogue One.

And the wraps are finally coming off the long-rumoured Obi-Wan Kenobi series with Ewan McGregor.

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The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson is also working on a new film trilogy that doesn't have a release date yet.