The Game of Thrones Prequel House of the Dragon Premieres This Weekend

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Dragons are coming back to HBO this summer. The much-anticipated Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, which is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book about House Targaryen, is set to premiere later this month.

Here's everything we know so far about House of the Dragon.

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House of the Dragon premieres on Sunday, August 21, 2022.

The ten-episode Game of Thrones spin-off will "depict how the House of Targaryen fell into a bitter and brutal civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons — presaging the beginning of the end of the ruling family of Westeros."

The official trailer dropped in July 2022 (watch above). It features discussions around the succession of King Viserys, with one advisor, Otto Hightower, suggesting Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen—even though no queen has ever sat on the Iron Throne. Another advisor, Corlys Velaryon, says the king already has an heir: Prince Daemon Targaryen. In the trailer, Viserys says, "I will not be made to choose between my brother and my daughter."

At Comic-Con, HBO released an extended version of the trailer, showing this battle for succession once again, with the tease "Targaryens are closer to gods than to men," and a quick preview of dragons:

The first teaser trailer, released May 2022, shows key members of the Targaryen family:

In another teaser, a voice simply says "Gods. Kings. Fire. And blood. Dreams didn't make us kings—dragons did."

Paddy Considine leads the cast as King Viserys Targaryen.

Paddy Considine will play King Viserys I, the head of the Targaryen family. Emmy D’Arcy will be Princess Rhaenrya, Viserys’ first child and his heir apparent, and The Crown actor Matt Smith will be Prince Daemon, Viserys’ younger brother.

There are also non-Targaryen cast members in the key cast: Rhys Ifans will portray Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King; Olivia Cooke will be Otto’s daughter, Lady Alicent Hightower (who, in the book, becomes Queen when she marries Viserys); and Fabien Frankel will be Ser Criston Cole, a knight who loves Princess Rhaenrya.

Rounding out the cast are Sonyo Mizuno, who will play Mysaria, Prince Daemon's lover, and Eve Best and Steve Toussaint, who will portray married royals Princess Rhaenys Velaryon (née Targaryen) and Lord Corlys Velaryon.

Best told the Guardian that the audition process was extremely secretive, sharing, "To audition, we were initially sent a scene from the original Game of Thrones with the names changed. We weren’t even told the title of the new show."

The Velaryons are a notable change from the book; in the adaptation, they are wealthy Black rulers. "It was very important for Miguel [Sapochnik] and I to create a show that was not another bunch of white people on the screen," co-showrunner Ryan Condal explained to Entertainment Weekly. "We wanted to find a way to put diversity in the show, but we didn't want to do it in a way that felt like it was an afterthought or, worse, tokenism."

The show is based on George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood.

House of the Dragon was created by GOT author George R.R. Martin and showrunners Ryan Condal (who created the sci-fi series Colony) and Miguel Sapochnik (a director on Game of Thrones).

Here's the plot synopsis for the Fire & Blood book:

"Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire & Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.

What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why was it so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What were Maegor the Cruel’s worst crimes? What was it like in Westeros when dragons ruled the skies? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel and featuring more than eighty-five black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley—including five illustrations exclusive to the trade paperback edition. Readers have glimpsed small parts of this narrative in such volumes as The World of Ice & Fire, but now, for the first time, the full tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed."

George R. R. Martin is extremely excited about the show.

Martin saw a rough cut of the first episode in December 2021, and wrote on his blog, "It’s dark, it’s powerful, it’s visceral… just the way I like my epic fantasy." He added, "Most viewers will only have heard of a few of the actors, but I think you are going to fall in love with a lot of them. (Only to have your heart broken later when… but no, that would be telling). I think the Targaryens are in very good hands. Anticipate away. I do not think you will be disappointed."

A few months later, he's seen more of the series. "I saw rough cuts of a couple more episodes of House of the Dragon and was just as pleased as I was with the earlier episodes," he wrote on his blog in April. "Those of you who like complex, conflicted, grey characters (as I do) will like this series, I think. There will be plenty of dragons and battles, to be sure, but the spine of the story is the human conflicts, the love and the hate, character drama rather than action/ adventure."

In June, Martin once again took to his blog to compliment the series—saying he's seen all episodes but the finale. He wrote, "the look of it is great, and the acting, the directing, and writing are first rate. And yes, for all you book fans, it IS my story. Sure, there are some changes from ‘Fire & Blood’ — we could not present three alternative versions of every major event, not and keep our sanity — but I think Ryan Condal and his writers made good choices. Even some improvements. (Heresy, I know, but being the author, I am allowed to say so)."

Martin also specifically complimented actor Paddy Considine, writing, "I am vastly impressed by the show’s version of King Viserys, played by Paddy Considine, who gives the character a tragic majesty that my book Viserys never quite achieved."

HBO released images of all the key characters in House of the Dragon.

In new stills from the show released a few weeks ahead of the premiere, the younger versions of the main characters are shown:

Here are the older versions of Rhaenyra and Alicent:

Will Emilia Clarke be in House of Dragons?

No, Emilia Clarke will not be reprising her role as Daenerys Targaryen. As the show is set centuries before the events of Game of Thrones, her character doesn't make sense to be in the plot.

The show will air on HBO and HBO Max

As we wait for House of Dragons to premiere on August 21, 2022, there's plenty of time to rewatch the original Game of Thrones.

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