HBO is getting ready for the new Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon. Production has officially started on the GOT prequel and a behind-the-scenes look at the table read is something that looks right out of Westworld.
In the era of COVID-19, movie and TV show productions are taking all the necessary precautions, ranging from shortened seasons to limiting the number of people on set to even including the pandemic in storylines. House of the Dragon is no exception to taking precautions. The series is now in production and the official Game of Thrones Twitter shared the first look at the table read. Everyone is at their individual desks, socially distanced, but ready nonetheless to give fans a series they won’t forget.
House of the Dragon was announced after Game of Thrones ended its run, which brought good news to fans who weren’t particularly fond of the HBO series’ final season but still wanted more Westeros action. The prequel series, which will serve as an adaptation of George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood, will follow intrigue within House Targaryen at its height and will take place centuries before the events of the award-winning fantasy saga that was Game of Thrones.
Last December, HBO confirmed that House of the Dragon will be coming in 2022 with a teaser video. The video revealed a first look at the prequel, and while it didn’t offer an exact date, now that production has officially started, and everyone taking the precautions necessary, a more specific release date window could be announced.
One of the biggest names attached to the series is Matt Smith, best known to Whovians for playing the Eleventh Doctor on Doctor Who, as well as Prince Philip in the early seasons of The Crown. Smith will play Prince Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon. Additionally, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen will be played by Hanna alum Emma D’Arcy and Alicent Hightower will be played by Ready Player One’s Olivia Cooke. Paddy Considine was also cast as King Viserys. With a cast this stacked up already, the talent and action will be unmatched.
House of the Dragon received a straight-to-series 10-episode order from HBO in 2019, in place of the Game of Thrones prequel that had then-recently been cancelled. It was one of five GOT scripts that HBO ordered back in 2018 and the only one to receive a green light for production and move forward. The series will be set many years prior to Game of Thrones, with the main focus on the history of House Targaryen.
It’s still unknown just how much of the Fire & Blood book will be adapted, but fans will get to see the exploits of some of Jon and Dany’s ancestors and all of that incest that surrounded the family for centuries. As House of the Dragon begins production, revisit the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms in all eight seasons of Game of Thrones streaming on HBO Max.
