Fans of Game of Thrones have been waiting with bated breath in regard to the new spinoff series, House of the Dragon, which will take a deep dive into the story of House Targaryen.
According to HBO, the new series is planned to be released this year. However, the latest news suggests that Season 1 could still be some way off.
Season 1 of House of the Dragon expected to drop in 2022
Back when HBO released the very first trailer for House of the Dragon, it was already known that the epic fantasy series would drop in 2022. Since then, viewers have been desperate to find out the actual premiere date for Season 1.
HBO has been very cautious on releasing the elusive date and HBO’s Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys recently explained why.
“One of the reasons why we’re trying to be cautious about it is when you’re shooting a show that big during a pandemic, especially with the last round [with] a lot of crew and cast members… you didn’t know who was going to drop out or if we’re going to have to shut down so we just didn’t want to declare a date and then find ourselves shut down,” Bloys told Deadline.
Filming is complete for Season 1
A recent article by Fansided has confirmed that filming is complete on Season 1 of House of the Dragon, which means news on a premiere date could be closer.
According to the series showrunner, Ryan Condal on his podcast The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of, filming was completed on Valentine’s Day. This ties in with what the Game of Thrones author, George R. R. Martin, told Collider last month.
However, thanks to the Omicron strain of COVID-19, things have been delayed even further, with Condal himself testing positive prior to the wrap party.
He has also stated that there is still plenty of work to be done before the first installment is ready for viewers.
“We’re not anywhere close to done because we have lots of post stuff to do,” Condal revealed.
This should come as no surprise considering filming only wound down a month ago. With a TV show about dragons, it is anticipated that there will be a lot of CGI involved in post-production.
As to when exactly in 2022 House of the Dragon will now drop remains to be seen. However, it seems unlikely at this point that it will premiere in the first half of the year if filming has only recently been finalized.
Season 1 of House of the Dragon will premiere on HBO in 2022.