Game Of Thrones spin-off House Of The Dragon is officially underway
Like it or not, Game Of Thrones is properly turning into a TV franchise now. Almost two years after the massively popular, award-winning fantasy drama ended its run on HBO, the cable company has confirmed that the long-awaited spin-off about the Targaryen clan is in production. House Of The Dragon will arrive on HBO Max sometime in 2022. Season one consists of 10 episodes.
Based on George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, the series takes place 300 years before the events of GOT and unpacks the story of the ancestors of Daenerys Targaryen a.k.a. the Mother of Dragons, played by Emilia Clarke.
Specifically, the show focuses on the kind and decent King Viserys, who was chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed Jaehaerys Targaryen at the Great Council at Harrenhal. The show will also feature his younger brother, Prince Daemon Targaryen, who is a peerless warrior and a dragon rider. Paddy Considine has been tapped to play King Viserys and Doctor Who’s Matt Smith will play Prince Deamon.
The rest of the cast includes Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the King’s firstborn whose claim to the throne is essentially challenged because she is a woman. Steve Toussaint plays Lord Corlys Velaryon a.k.a The Sea Snake of a Valyrian bloodline as old as House Targaryen. Eva Best is Rhaenys Velaryon, Lord Corly’s wife. Rhys Ifans plays Otto Hightower, the loyal Hand of the King, and Olivia Cooke plays his daughter, Alicent Hightower, who grew up in the Red Keep and therefore has skilled political acumen. The fantasy series stars Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, an ally to Prince Daemon, and Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole.
In a Medium post earlier this year, Warner Media shared the first look of the show’s concept art, which for now is stunning imagery of dragons.
House Of The Dragon is one of several spin-offs that were in the making over the last couple of years. In 2018, a pilot was commissioned for Bloodmoon, set roughly 10,000 years before the Game Of Thrones. It was led by Naomi Watts as a charismatic socialite with a dark secret. While it went in post-production, HBO confirmed in 2019 that it wasn’t turning into a series.
Martin and Ryan Condal serve as co-creators for House Of The Dragon, while Emmy-award winning GOT director Miguel Sapochnik will be a showrunner with Condal. The pair will also serve as executive producers with author Martin, Vince Gerardis, Sara Lee Hess, and Ron Schmidt. The directors roundup for the first season so far includes Clare Kilner, Geeta V. Patel, and Greg Yaitanes. Ramin Djawadi will return to score the music for the series.
HBO posted the first look of the cast at the socially distant table read: