HBO's upcoming Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon is heading into production. Even before the network's most successful series of all time ended, HBO began plotting spinoffs of the landmark fantasy series. A Naomi Watts-led Game of Thrones spinoff titled The Long Night went so far as to shoot a pilot in Ireland before HBO decided not to pick up the series, indicating just how serious they were taking this next step in their coveted franchise.
Originally greenlit in 2019, House of the Dragon has slowly fleshed out its cast and developed its story based on George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood book about House Targaryen. Miguel Sapochnik, who directed several episodes of Game of Thrones, is set to helm the pilot and additional episodes in the series' 10-episode first season. Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Paddy Considine, Emma D'Arcy, and Sonoya Mizuno are all set to star in the series which is set to debut sometime in 2022.
Announced via the official Game of Thrones Twitter, House of the Dragon is officially heading into production. The announcement is accompanied by what looks to the cast gathered and doing a table read, likely of the pilot episode. Captioned with "Fire will reign," the tweet also points to a new official House of the Dragon Twitter where fans can expect to see updates about the series.
Set to take place roughly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon will show House Targaryen at the peak of its rule in Westeros. As the title indicates, there will also be plenty more dragons, with at least a dozen alive during this period of time in Westeros' history. Anyone worried that the show could be lacking the political intrigue, though, can rest easy. House Targaryen is full of factions and family squabbles, leading to their eventual downfall and a Targaryen civil war called The Dance of the Dragons.
Luckily, this time around, HBO will be able to pour a lot more money into the series. Whereas Game of Thrones took years to build up to the epic onscreen battles seen in the later seasons, House of the Dragon will be able to come out of the gate strong thanks to Game of Thrones massive success. With a vast history to mine, House of the Dragon could be around for years to come along with the various Game of Thrones spinoffs currently being developed. Daenerys Targaryen proved to be one of the original show's most popular characters, making the choice to focus on her family in the first spinoff a smart one and setting up House of the Dragon to be one of the most anticipated television events of 2022.
Source: Game of Thrones