Everything Fantastical You Need to Know About ‘House of the Dragon’

This week marks just one month away from HBO’s massive follow-up to Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon. We’ve had three years without the beloved fantasy saga—though it feels like much, much longer, thanks to a global pandemic and a plethora of other major world events—but George R.R. Martin is back in business, baby.

Resident Game of Thrones expert James Hibberd brought the show to the forefront this week, after publishing two stories offering an in-depth look at the series for The Hollywood Reporter. The first, published Tuesday, detailed House of the Dragon’s early aughts, from pitches to creative team.

Now, with Wednesday’s piece, we know a bit more about the actual stories and inspirations behind the upcoming spinoff. Once again, we’ll all be tuning in to watch another “struggle for succession.” That appears to be a frequent theme over at HBO.

“The main characters are two women and two men,” showrunner Miguel Sapochnik explains, simply. “There’s the king (Viserys), his brother (Daemon), the king’s daughter (Rhaenyra) and her best friend (Alicent). Then the best friend becomes the king’s wife and thereby the queen. That in itself is complicated — when your best friend goes and marries your dad. But from the tiniest things, it slowly evolves this gigantic battle between two sides.”

If you want to put names to those faces: Paddy Considine will play Viserys, Matt Smith will star as his brother Daemon, Emma D’Arcy will be Rhaenyra, and Olivia Cooke will star as Rhaenyra’s best friend, Alicent. The show will navigate through flashbacks, meaning a younger cast will also be in play. Since the men are older in the story, though, they’ll be played by the same actors throughout.

The trailer for the show also debuted earlier today—have you ever seen so many bleach blond wigs in one short clip? The Targaryen family debates the throne succession in the clip, throwing questions of gender, familial dynamics, and love onto the table. And, of course, quite a few dragons take flight. Naturally!

There’s quite a bit to sift through in the Game of Thrones info dump. We’ve highlighted the most important updates, bizarre scoops, and required reading ahead of the House of the Dragon’s premiere next month.

Book Loyalty: Even though the book has both a Princess Rhaenyra and a Princess Rhaenys, showrunner Ryan Condal tried his best to stay true to the original story, Fire & Blood, as confusing as it can be. The production will have a “staunch loyalist approach” to Martin’s original series. Read the book for an exclusive close look at the series before it debuts.

A Twisted Superhero Concept: Before House of Dragon took flight at HBO, the network opened up pitches for wild concepts to continue Martin’s saga on TV. While “no ideas were too weird,” there was one “that didn’t get very far,” according to HBO content chief Casey Bloys. That pitch was Game of Thrones a la Marvel, in which the Seven Gods of Westeros were brought together to go on adventures with one another. You won’t find that on your HBO Max homescreen anytime soon.

The Aftermath of Bloodmoon Led to House of the Dragon: After HBO produced (and quickly canceled) the incredibly expensive pilot for Bloodmoon, which was supposed to be a direct follow-up to Game of Thrones starring Naomi Watts, the network tried to regroup. Though there “wasn’t anything glaringly wrong with” the pilot, Bloys said it simply “required a lot more invention” of Martin’s story. The solution? Source more advice from Martin himself, which led to the hiring of his pal Condal.

Get Ready For a New Throne: In the second piece, the showrunners take a visit to the beloved throne—but there are some noteworthy edits. Pillars in the throne room are now statues of Targaryen kings; the room is home to dragon eggs; and the throne now has a few rows of twisted swords. Call them Joker swords.

Prepare for Incest: No further info on this page was revealed, but as House of the Dragon is a so-called “family drama,” there’s also “a dash of incest, of course.”

Matt Smith Faced Hell: The Doctor Who actor faced a bit of pushback from fans online who thought the jovial Doctor couldn’t serve as the king’s “hell-raising brother.” Still, Smith pushed on. While filming, however, the actor faced even more strife after severely injuring a disc in his neck during a stunt. Smith is still in physical therapy for his injury, though he was able to finish filming all of his scenes.

Dancing Dragons: The show was able to employ a new method of filming with dragons. Instead of filming for hours in front of a green screen, actors could use a special LED wall to watch themselves within the fantastical realm of the show as they rode the dragon rig. Oh, and the series will feature at least 17 dragons, including a few tropical lizard-esque critters.

Let’s Talk About Sex: House of the Dragon will have less sex scenes than Game of Thrones, but the show does plan to hone in on sexual violence storylines. “If anything, we’re going to shine a light on that aspect,” Salopchnik explained. “You can’t ignore the violence that was perpetrated on women by men in that time. It shouldn’t be downplayed and it shouldn’t be glorified.”

A Resounding “YES!” From George R. R. Martin: After seeing the first cut, the author sent a flurry of exclamation marks to both showrunners, supporting their vision. While this may not be an update on the show itself, at least we know that the King himself approves of House of the Dragon.

House of the Dragon will premiere on August 21 on HBO.