Harry Potter actor Miranda Richardson joins Naomi Watts in HBO's upcoming Game of Thrones prequel

Harry Potter actor Miranda Richardson has been roped in to star in Game of Thrones spin-off, tentatively titled, The Long Night.The actor is known for her turn as Rita Skeeter, the nosy Gossip Correspondent for the fictitious newspaper Daily Prophet in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.[caption id="attachment_6289991" align="alignnone" width="825"]

Miranda Richardson as Rita Skeeter in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Image from Twitter[/caption]According to Deadline, Richardson has joined the ensemble cast which features Naomi Watts in the lead.Josh Whitehouse, Naomi Ackie, Denise Gough, Jamie Campbell Bower, Sheila Atim, Ivanno Jeremiah, Georgie Henley, Alex Sharp and Toby Regbo are also attached to star.The prequel pilot comes from writer Jane Goldman and GoT creator and co-executive producer George RR Martin. Goldman will also serve as showrunner.According to HBO, the new show will be set thousands of years before the events of GoT. It will chronicle the world's descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour. From the horrifying secrets of Westeros's history to the true origin of the White Walkers, the mysteries of the East to the Starks of legend, the official logline of the show read.Martin and Goldman's GoT prequel is the first of several potential series set in the world of Westeros to move forward at HBO beyond the script phase. In May 2017, a multitude of writers were announced by HBO to be working on what Martin described as the "successor shows."GoT returns for a final time on April 14.(With inputs from Press Trust of India)