Composer Ramin Djawadi reveals why the Game of Thrones title theme has carried over to House of the Dragon. Djawadi began his work as the composer for Westeros starting with Game of Thrones season 1. He has continued building on his Game of Thrones compositions with the HBO prequel series, House of the Dragon.
Episode 1 of House of the Dragon noticeably did not have any opening credit sequence in the episode. Even though there were no credits, the familiar swell of the music could be heard. From episode 2 on, House of the Dragon has been using the same opening credits theme as before. While many of the creatives that worked on Games of Thrones are not part of House of the Dragon, Djawadi has contributed his familiar touches to the new show. As the story of House Targaryen is being laid out, old themes and musical cues have been altered from their Game of Thrones origins to fit the new series.
As House of the Dragon is a prequel show, viewers were expecting a new title sequence. When speaking with IGN, Djawadi explained why the theme has carried over. Check out his response below:
“I think that’s a good example of tying back the old material with the new. As a franchise to just connect all of these stories together. In the original main title, we always looked at and thought of it as an overarching theme that connects all of the characters and the journey and the adventures of this universe. So we felt it would be appropriate to connect it with this main title theme again.”
While House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones are set in two different time periods, the two shows are telling different parts of a greater epic story. The music creates a through line between the two and settles viewers into a certain headspace. It is unknown if any of the future Game of Thrones spinoff shows will ultimately be using the same theme composed by Djawadi as well.
Even with different visuals than Game of Thrones in the opening credits, House of the Dragon is closely tied together with its sequel series. Although using the same theme music to connect the two is somewhat novel for television, it is very common in film. Much like if the music in the title crawl for any Star Wars movie was changed, House of the Dragon would feel like something was lacking without the familiar theme. Without the use of those titles, House of the Dragon would feel like it existed in another world. Since Game of Thrones first came out in 2011, that music has become synonymous with that universe. House of the Dragon is simply carrying on the tradition. In an era of TV where opening credit sequences are rarely used anymore, viewers can appreciate a classic approach to a show.
Source: IGN