‘House of the Dragon’ Finally Enters Production To Premiere In 2022
It’s has taken a little while to get going (due to the little issue of a global pandemic…) but HBO’s ‘Game Of Thrones’ prequel ‘House of the Dragon‘ has finally begun production the network has announced, and will premiere in 2022.
Based on George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, the series will tell the story of House Targaryen (a.k.a. the House that gave us the Mother of Dragons herself, Daenerys Targaryen) and take place 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones.
The cast includes:
Paddy Considine (The Third Day’, ‘The Outsider’) as King Viserys Targaryen. Viserys was chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King, Jaehaerys Targaryen, at the Great Council at Harrenhal. A warm, kind, and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather’s legacy, but as we’ve learned from Game of Thrones, good men do not necessarily make for great kings.
Matt Smith (‘Doctor Who’, ‘The Crown’) as Prince Daemon Targaryen. The younger brother of King Viserys and heir to the throne, Daemon is a peerless warrior and a dragonrider who possesses the true blood of the dragon. But it is said that whenever a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin in the air…
Rhys Ifans (The Amazing Spider-Man’, ‘Notting Hill’) as Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, who loyally and faithfully serves both his king and his realm. As the Hand sees it, the greatest threat to the realm is the king’s brother, Daemon, and his position as heir to the throne.
Olivia Cooke (‘Bates Motel’, ‘Ready Player One’) as Alicent Hightower. She’s the daughter of Otto and the most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms. She was raised in the Red Keep, close to the king and his innermost circle; she possesses both a courtly grace and a keen political acumen.
Emma D’Arcy (‘Truth Seekers’, ‘Hanna’) as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. The king’s first-born child. She is of pure Valyrian blood, and she is a dragonrider. Many would say that Rhaenyra was born with everything… but she was not born a man.
Eve Best (‘Lucky Man’, ‘Nurse Jackie’) as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon. A dragonrider and wife to Lord Corlys Velaryon, “The Queen Who Never Was” was passed over as heir to the throne at the Great Council because the realm favoured her cousin, Viserys, simply for being male.
Steve Toussaint (‘It’s a Sin’, Line of Duty’) as Lord Corlys Velaryon aka “The Sea Snake.” The lord of House Velaryon, a Valyrian bloodline as old as House Targaryen, “The Sea Snake,” is the most famed nautical adventurer in the history of Westeros. He built his house into a powerful seat that is even richer than the Lannisters and that claims the largest navy in the world.
Sonoya Mizuno (‘Devs’, ‘Maniac’) as Mysaria. She came to Westeros with nothing, sold more times than she can recall, and could have wilted… but instead she rose to become the most trusted – and most unlikely – ally of Prince Daemon Targaryen, the heir to the throne.
Fabien Frankel (‘Last Christmas’, ‘The Serpent’) as Ser Criston Cole. Of Dornish descent, he is the common-born son of the steward to the Lord of Blackhaven. Cole has no claim to land or titles; all he has to his name is his honour and his preternatural skill with a sword.
HBO revealed the start of production in a Tweet (below) featuring the cast performing a table read – all, of course, responsibly socially distanced from each other:
Fire will reign ?
The @HBO original series #HouseoftheDragon is officially in production. Coming soon to @HBOMax in 2022. pic.twitter.com/tPX8n2IvGW— House of the Dragon (@HouseofDragon) April 26, 2021
The new series is co-created by George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal (‘Colony’, ‘Hercules’), with Miguel Sapochnik and Condal as co-showrunners. Sapochnik’s directing credits include six ‘Game of Thrones’ episodes, including Emmy and DGA honours for “Battle of the Bastards.” He was nominated for another Emmy in 2019 for directing “The Long Night” and won the Emmy for Best Drama Series as an executive producer for the final season.
Additional directors for the show include Clare Kilner (‘The Alienist: Angel of Darkness’, ‘The Wedding Date’) and Geeta V. Patel (‘Meet the Patels’, ‘The Witcher’). Greg Yaitanes (‘Banshee’, ‘House’) is director and co-executive producer. Sapochnik, Condal and Martin also exec produce, alongside Vince Gerardis, Sara Lee Hess and Ron Schmidt. Brilliant ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Westworld’ composer Ramin Djawadi will return to score the series.
‘House Of The Dragon‘ is set to premiere in 2022 on HBO & HBO Max in the USA. As it is airing on the HBO channel in the US, it should fall under Sky’s overall deal and air on Sky Atlantic in the UK (the deal only covers HBO channel series and not shows which are purely HBO Max properties.)
