In November 2018, George R. R. Martin, creator of A Song of Ice and Fire, stated that a “potential spinoff series would be solidly based on material in Fire and Blood.” By September 2019, a Game of Thrones prequel series from Martin and Ryan J. Condal that “tracks the beginning of the end for House Targaryen” was close to receiving a pilot order from HBO. The following month, House of the Dragon, which is based on Martin’s book Fire & Blood was given a straight-to-series order. Condal and Miguel Sapochnik, who won an Emmy Award for directing the episode “Battle of the Bastards”, were selected to serve as showrunners. Sapochnik was also hired to direct the pilot as well as additional episodes. According to Condal, the series takes place 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones during the reign of King Viserys I Targaryen, ultimately leading to the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons.[disputed – discuss The project is a reworking of the rejected spinoff concept from Game of Thrones writer Bryan Cogman, on which HBO officially passed.