“Game of Thrones” stage prequel will chronicle the Mad King and final years before start of books
“Game of Thrones” stage prequel will chronicle the Mad King and final years before start of books
Nick RomanoWed, February 18, 2026 at 7:11 PM UTC
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David Rintoul as King Aerys II Targaryen on 'Game of Thrones'
The Mad King returns.
A new Game of Thrones prequel is coming to the U.K. stage to chronicle the final years of King Aerys II Targaryen, a.k.a. the Mad King that sparked Robert's Rebellion and paved the way for the main events of A Song of Ice and Fire.
Called Game of Thrones: The Mad King and premiering this summer from the Royal Shakespeare Company, the play is written by Duncan Macmillan and directed by Dominic Cooke.
A description notes "familiar characters from the houses Targaryen, Stark, Lannister, Baratheon, and Martell" will feature among the cast. No casting has been announced at this time.
Mark Addy as Robert Baratheon on 'Game of Thrones' HBO
Actor David Rintoul briefly portrayed King Aerys on HBO's Game of Thrones TV series adaptation in flashbacks. The Targaryen earned the nickname "the Mad King" after his mind succumbed to years and years of incestuous inbreeding, turning him into an unhinged ruler.
His waning mental capacity prompted Lord Robert Baratheon (played by Mark Addy on the TV show) to lead a rebellion that would usurp him from the throne and set up the world depicted in Martin's books and the TV series.
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Aerys was famously killed by Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), a member of his own Kingsguard who stabbed the Mad King in the back. Aerys was the last Targaryen to hold the Iron Throne since Aegon the Conqueror came to Westeros.
George R. R. Martin at the world premiere of 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms'
Tristar Media/WireImage
"A long winter thaws in Harrenhal, and spring is promised," reads the formal description for Game of Thrones: The Mad King. "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."
It continues: "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.'"
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More information on ticket sales will be available in April.
"When I first wrote Game of Thrones, I never imagined that it would be anything other than a book," Martin said. "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."
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
