HBO will be the home of dragons again soon. The upcoming HBO series House of the Dragon is the first official spinoff of Game of Thrones and will take place long before the events of the main series. It will depict the Targaryen reign and the war between two factions known as a the Dance of the Dragons war.
This civil war between the Targaryens was responsible for the weakening of the family, being the reason why dragons would eventually begin to go extinct—until Daenerys Targaryen would bring them back in the first season/novel of the main series. As someone who really enjoys the history of Westeros, I’m really excited to see how this plays out on the show. Series author George R.R. Martin has said that he will be consulting on House of the Dragon and previously mentioned how thrilled he was with the project from what he’s seen.
What’s the release date?
The series premiere officially arrives on August 21 on HBO and HBO Max. For the main cast, there is Paddy Considine as King Viserys I Targaryen, Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Lady Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower, just to name a few.
Hopefully, for fans and the writers, the series will have learned some lessons from the feedback from the original series—less rape and nudity for the sake of it. There is enough fire and blood in the series as it exists, without the need for more just for the sake of skeptical. They have already done the work to ensure there are more prominent POC in the cast than in Game of Thrones’, so here’s hoping this is a sign of good change to come.
(image: HBO Max)
