The Targaryens are fighting: House of the Dragon trailer promises a fiery civil war
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There's a saying in Westeros: Every time a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land. Well, the new Game of Thrones prequel series has a lot of Targaryens. We hope you have stellar lung capacity.
HBO has unleashed a new trailer for House of the Dragon, which is set to premiere this fall on Aug. 21 with a story set hundreds of years before the time of Jon Snow and Daenerys.
The drama, inspired by George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood and showrun together by writer Ryan Condal and director Miguel Sapochnik, goes back to the heyday of the Targaryen Empire during the Dance of the Dragons, which is a civil war that broke out among House Targaryen over succession of the Iron Throne.
Game of Thrones/Twitter Emma D'Arcy stars as Princess Rhaenyra in 'House of the Dragon.'
"Men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend the Iron Throne," Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best), a royal passed over for rule in favor of her male cousin, tells a young Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock), a major player in all the fire and blood that is to come. And that right there is the spark that will set Westeros ablaze.
Emma D'Arcy is later seen in the trailer as an older version of Rhaenyra.
King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) is the current occupant of the Iron Throne, and he has named his firstborn child, Rhaenyra, as successor. The Lords of Westeros, including House Stark and House Baratheon, have sworn fealty to Viserys and his chosen successor, but those working in the shadows wish to change the outcome.
"We play an ugly game," Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), the Hand of the King, tells his daughter Alicent. "You have the determination to win it." (Emily Carey plays a young Alicent, while Olivia Cooke plays her as an adult.)
"History does not remember blood, it remembers names," says Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), Rhaenyra's uncle, another would-be claimant of the throne.
The footage also shows off more of the finished special effects of the series, including shots of Dragonstone, the ancestral seat of House Targaryen — and, of course, actual dragons and dragon eggs. (At this period in history, Westeros had the highest dragon population.)
Steve Toussaint appears as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Lord of House Velaryon and the most famed nautical adventurer in Westeros history. House of the Dragon also highlights Sonoya Mizuno as Daemon's confidante Mysaria, and Fabien Frankel as knight of the Kingsguard Ser Criston Cole.
HBO further confirmed the remainder of the main cast for House of the Dragon, including the one other major claimant to the Iron Throne that we haven't been talking about. That would be Aegon Targaryen, the firstborn son of Visery, who will oppose Rhaenyra and be played by actor Tom Glynn-Carney.
Also confirmed for the cast are Bethany Antonia as Baela Targaryen, eldest daughter of Laena Velaryon and rider of the young dragon Moondancer; Phoebe Campbell as Rhaena Targaryen, second daughter of Lady Laena and sister to Baela; Harry Collett as Jacaerys Velaryon, eldest son of Rhaenyra Targaryen; Wil Johnson as Ser Vaemond Velaryon, younger brother to Coryls Velaryon and commander in the Velaryon navy; John Macmillan as Ser Laenor Velaryon, son of Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen; Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen, second-born son of Viserys, nephew to Daemon, and half-brother to Rhaenyra; Theo Nate as Ser Laenor Velaryon, son of Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen; Matthew Needham as Larys Strong, younger son of Master of Laws Lyonel Strong, brought to court by his father; Phia Saban as Helaena Targaryen, second-born daughter of Viserys, sister to Aegon and Aemond, and half-sister to Rhaenyra; and Savannah Steyn as Lady Laena Velayron, daughter of Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen.
Hey, no one ever said the Targaryen clan wasn't messy.
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