What do we know about House of the Dragon - the Game of Thrones prequel?

  • Mar 28,2024
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Game of Thrones has taken the world by storm ever since its release back in 2011. It has become the most popular television series of all time with more than 19 million viewers for its finale season. The show has won 59 out of 160 Emmy nominations, holding the Emmy award for the most wins for a scripted television series.

The American fantasy drama series was created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is based on George R.R. Martin’s series of fantasy novels “A Song of Ice and Fire”. While the television show has already ended, the books remain unfinished – the last book written being “A Dance of Dragons”, published in 2011. Due to the fact that Martin took a significant part in the production of the series, writing the sixth one “Winds of Winter” has been delayed. However, he recently took to his personal blog and shared that the months of social distancing and isolation due to the worldwide pandemic situation in 2020 have helped him stay motivated and focused on finishing the book that millions of fans are expecting.

Over the years, Martin has managed to write a few books about the Game of Thrones world. After the huge success of the series all around the globe, HBO has decided to give life to another of his books, thus creating the new television show “House of the Dragon”.

What will “House of the Dragon” be about?
The project is based on George R.R. Martin’s “Fire&Blood”, a prequel set 300 years before the events in GoT. It covers 150 years of the history of House Targaryen and includes the rise and fall of many leaders in Westeros. However, it was speculated that the show will focus on one particular period of the Targaryen dynasty. The story revolves around the famed Dance of the Dragons – the Targaryen Civil War that ripped Westeros apart.

Who is working on the show?
According to official information released by HBO, the series is co-created by George R.R. Martin himself and Ryan Condal. Miguel Sapochnik, who has directed some of the most successful and highest-rated episodes of GoT such as “Hardhome” (9.9/10), “Battle of the Bastards” (9.9/10) and “Winds of Winter” (9.9/10), will partner with Condal as showrunner and will direct the pilot and additional episodes. Condal will be writing the series.

Casting, filming and release date
After the production received a green light last October, HBO began building the House of the Dragon cast in January but had to pause it due to the outburst of the coronavirus worldwide. However, Entertainment Weekly just reported that the casting process is ongoing once again since July. The team is looking for actors and actresses, suitable for the roles of the fan-favourite Targaryens. Predictions are that some of the key roles could include King Viserys I, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Queen Alicent Hightower, and Aegon II Targaryen but it is still unconfirmed.