House of the Dragon will center on House Targaryen, a wealthy — albeit crazy — family in Westeros who is also famously known for their control over dragons.
A trailer recently released ahead of Season 1’s premiere showed a few of the dragons that viewers can expect to see when House of the Dragon premieres on August 21.
In HBO’s original series, Game of Thrones, only three dragons were introduced and this was only after Daenerys Targaryen (portrayed by Emilia Clarke) hatched them from eggs as the creatures were considered extinct by this point in time in Westeros.
However, in House of the Dragon, viewers can expect to see plenty more dragons as this new series is a prequel to the original, set some 200 years prior to the events that unfolded in Game of Thrones.
Because of this, House Targaryen is much more prominent, being the rulers of Westeros, and their dragons are still a spectacle to behold.
Now, the series’ co-showrunner has revealed exactly how many new dragons fans can expect to see in Season 1.
Nine new dragons will appear in Season 1
According to House of the Dragon co-showrunner, Miguel Sapochnik, viewers will get to see nine dragons in Season 1 of House of the Dragon.
However, there are expected to be a total of 17 dragons that will appear in the new series — so long as it is renewed.
And, each of these dragons will be entirely unique.
“Each new dragon has its own personality. That’s what’s going on now in our last part of the animation — we’re applying personal character traits to each of the dragons,” Sapichnik told Empire.
“One of them’s got a [bad] leg. Another one’s much more like an eagle, because she’s kind of neurotic. And another one’s like a curmudgeonly old granny.”
Matt Smith reveals the name of his dragon
These dragons will be intertwined quite closely with the Targaryens and Matt Smith, who portrays Prince Daemon Targaryen, says the relationship is quite “symbiotic.”
“There’s a very symbiotic connection between the dragon rider and the dragon,” Smith said. “You’ve got to master it from an early age, and it’s a death-defying experience trying to tame it.”
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Smith also revealed the name of his dragon.
“My dragon’s called Caraxes. He’s a bit of an avatar of Daemon — he’s grumpy, sardonic, insular, volatile, chaotic. There’s a very strong connection between the dragon and the dragonrider.”
Smith also revealed that the dragons featured in House of the Dragon will be part CGI and part mechanical creations.
Season 1 of House of the Dragon will premiere on August 21 on HBO Max.