Less than a week separates Game Of Thrones fans from the fantasy drama’s first spin-off, but will it be worth the wait?
Starting August 22, House Of The Dragon will chronicle the lives of Daenerys Targaryen’s incestuous relatives some 200 years before the Battle of Seven Kingdoms.
Created by Game Of Thrones writer George RR Martin, the HBO series is based on his sprawling 2018 book Fire & Blood – A Comprehensive History of House Targaryen.
Coming soon: Game Of Thrones fans are less than a week away from the fantasy drama’s first spin-off, but will it be worth the wait?
Showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik, a director of GOT, are helping to create the series.
The first teaser trailer was released in May 2022, three years after GOT’s finale, The Iron Throne.
HBO released the official House of the Dragon trailer two months later, giving fans a good look at what to expect.
Here Web takes another look at the upcoming fair.
Exciting: From August 22, House Of The Dragon will document the life of Daenerys Targaryen’s incestuous relatives around 200 years before the Battle of Seven Kingdoms
When is the prequel coming out?
Set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, the $200 million budget House of Targaryen tale will premiere all 10 episodes on HBO beginning August 21.
Who is starring in House of the Dragon?
Paddy Considine will play King Viserys I, head of the Targaryen family. Emmy D’Arcy will be Princess Rhaenrya, Viserys’ first child and heir apparent, and Matt Smith will be Prince Daemon, Viserys’ younger brother.
There are also non-Targaryen actors in the key cast, including Rhys Ifans, who will play Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King; Olivia Cooke becomes Otto’s daughter, Lady Alicent Hightower (who becomes Queen in the book if she marries Viserys); and Fabien Frankel will be Ser Criston Cole, a knight who loves Princess Rhaenrya.
Before long, the ten-episode spin-off follows the bitter and brutal civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons
Rounding out the cast are Sonyo Mizuno, who will play Mysaria, Prince Daemon’s mistress, and Eve Best and Steve Toussaint, who will portray married royals Princess Rhaenys Velaryon and Lord Corlys Velaryon.
The Velaryons are a notable change from the book, in the adaptation they are wealthy black rulers.
Co-showrunner Ryan Condal told Entertainment Weekly, “It was very important to Miguel [Sapochnik] and I to create a show that wasn’t just another bunch of white guys on screen.
“We wanted to find a way to bring diversity to the show, but we didn’t want to do it in a way that felt like it was an afterthought or, worse, tokenism.”
What can we expect?
Exciting: The HBO series was created by GOT writer George RR Martin and is based on his book Fire & Blood
According to The Hollywood Reporter, viewers can expect several multi-year jumps in House of the Dragon, unlike GOT, which is the story of a royal family gone mad with power and wealth.
According to Miguel, House of Dragons follows four different characters attempting to claim the throne.
He said: “There are the king, his brother, the king’s daughter and her best friend. Then the best friend becomes the king’s wife and therefore the queen.’
Essentially, the story is what if your best friend hooked up with your father?, which wouldn’t exactly raise eyebrows from the Targaryens, who are used to incest.
The wait is over: the $200 million budget House of Targaryen story, set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, will reveal all 10 episodes starting August 21 on HBO
The Iron Thone-hungry characters conspire to rule after the death of the philanthropic King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine).
Viserys planned to make his firstborn child – Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) – the first reigning Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
But Viserys’ hellish brother Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and a whole host of other men in power have other ideas in the series, which jumps in time a decade midway.
Princess Rhaenys Velaryon (Eve Best) – who was passed over as queen by her cousin Viserys – warns Rhaenyra, “A woman would not inherit the Iron Throne, for that is the way of things.”
Rhaenyra defiantly replies in the trailer: “When I am queen, I will create a new order.”
Viserys planned to make his firstborn child – Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) – the first reigning Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, but Viserys’ brother had other plans (Paddy Considine as King Viserys I).
Meanwhile, Rhaenyra’s best friend from childhood, Lady Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) – whose character has been described as “a little more likable than Cersei Lannister” – marries Viserys to become queen so she can also vie for the Iron Throne.
As for the 17 different dragons featured on the show, Viserys believes, “You’re a power man who should never have been toyed with.”
During the show preview, a dragon egg is ready to hatch from a coal-fueled incubator.
Will Emilia Clarke Star in House of Dragons?
No, Emilia Clarke will not be reprising her role as Daenerys Targaryen. Since the show takes place centuries before the events of GOT, it makes no sense for her character to be part of the plot.
House of Dragons will hit viewers’ screens on August 21 on HBO.
Sad news: Emilia Clarke (pictured center in 2017) will not be reprising her role as Daenerys Targaryen. Since the show takes place centuries before the events of GOT, it makes no sense for her character to be part of the plot