Fans are buzzing with the prospect that production is now underway on HBO’s Game of Thrones spinoff series, House of the Dragon.
The show, which is set to delve into the history of House Targaryen, is the first series to get the go-ahead from HBO after The Long Night was scrapped after the pilot episode was filmed.
There has been plenty of hype but, with the global COVID-19 pandemic, filming had been delayed. However, it now seems that production is underway, according to several media outlets.
As Metro points out, there have been some sightings in England that could potentially be linked to the commencement of filming for House of the Dragon.
Warner Bros. logo branded lorries (HBO is a subsidiary of Warner Bros.) have been sighted near Holywell, Newquay, early this week. While this is no direct proof that they have anything to do with House of the Dragon, there are other indicators.
Fansided has noted that images of construction on an island called St Michael’s Mount show a very Game of Thrones-like structure.
In addition to this, a casting call was also recently issued asking for “men with longer hair and beards and women with long natural hair.” This was for “a medieval drama” to be filmed in Cornwall.
Once again, this is certainly no definitive proof that House of the Dragon has begun production, but it certainly does give the theory further merit.
What is House of the Dragon about?
According to HBO, the synopsis for House of the Dragon is below.
“Based on George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, the series will tell the story of House Targaryen (a.k.a. the House that gave us the Mother of Dragons herself, Daenerys Targaryen) and take place 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones.“
Already, there have been several official and comprehensive cast announcements.
Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Rhys Ifans, and Sonoya Mizuno have all signed on for the series.
Considine will play King Viserys Targaryen. Cooke is Alicent Hightower. D’Arcy will portray Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon aka “The Sea Snake,” and Best as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon.
Ifans has signed on to play Otto Hightower, Mizuno as Mysaria, and, finally, Frankel will star as Ser Criston Cole.
When will House of the Dragon premiere on HBO?
As yet, there is no official release date for House of the Dragon.
HBO president Casey Bloys has confirmed that it will be sometime in 2022, according to Screen Rant. This was reported in September of last year, so it is unclear if this is still a viable date considering the current global coronavirus pandemic.
However, if news regarding filming commencement for House of the Dragon is correct, then it definitely seems likely that the spinoff series could drop as early as next year.
Season 1 of House of the Dragon will premiere on HBO at a later date.