HBO has announced the official premiere date for House of the Dragon. A new show that serves as a prequel series to Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon will follow an all-new cast of characters by going back hundreds of years before the events of its parent series. The show had been expected to arrive sometime this year, and HBO officially announced on Wednesday that House of the Dragon will premiere on Aug. 21, 2022.
Former Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are not involved with the prequel. Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik created House of the Dragon and also serve as series showrunners. Condal wrote the pilot script, with Sapochnik directing the pilot and multiple episodes. Martin, Condal, and Sapochnik are executive producing alongside writer Sara Lee Hess, Vince Gerardis, and Ron Schmidt. Greg Yaitanes, who directs other episodes with Clare Kilner and Geeta V. Patel, also co-executive produces.
The show's ensemble cast includes Paddy Considine as King Viserys I Targaryen, Emma D'Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Lady Alicent Hightower, Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower, Steve Toussaint as Lord Coryls Velaryon, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Faben Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, and Graham McTavish as Ser Harrold Westerling. Also featured are Wil Johnson as Ser Vaemond Velaryon, John Macmillan as Ser Laenor Velaryon, Savannah Steyn as Lady Laena Velayron, and Theo Nate as Ser Laenor Velaryon.
Will House of the Dragon Reach the Same Levels of Success as Game of Thrones?
Moving forward with a new Game of Thrones series has the potential to start off strong, as there may be many fans of the immensely popular original series tuning in for House of the Dragon. It is worth noting that Game of Thrones controversially ended with a final season that drew significant criticism from fans, even resulting in a petition for HBO to remake the final episodes from scratch. That may leave some fans leery about giving the new show a try, though it does come from a different creative team and has already scored the approval of original author George R. R. Martin.
"Exciting news out of London — I am informed that shooting has WRAPPED for the first season of House of the Dragon.," Martin said on his blog when season 1 wrapped in February. "Yes, all ten episodes. I have seen rough cuts of a few of them, and I’m loving them. Of course, a lot more work needs to be done. Special effects, color timing, score, all the post production work. But the writing, the directing, the acting all look terrific. I hope you will like them as much as I do. My hat is off to Ryan and Miguel and their team, and to our amazing cast."
We will see how the series fares with fans when it premieres on HBO and HBO Max on Aug. 21, 2022. Until then, Game of Thrones can be found streaming on HBO Max.