The age of the Targaryens will soon be upon us.
HBO previously promised a 2022 premiere for Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon, which finished filming in London earlier this year. And now it has zeroed in on August 21 for the highly anticipated show’s premiere date.
Not only that, but the news comes with fresh photos from House of the Dragon.
The new series takes place 200 years before the events of the Emmy-winning Game of Thrones and will chronicle the heyday of the Targaryen empire in Westeros. More specifically, House of the Dragon is poised to adapt the events leading up to and surrounding the Dance of the Dragons, which is the name given to a devastating civil war that broke out amongst the Targaryens over succession of the Iron Throne.
On top of a teaser trailer, fans of Thrones have already seen images of some of the story’s main players: Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), the dragon-riding first-born child of the current ruler, King Viserys (Paddy Considine); Rhaenyra’s uncle Prince Daemon (Matt Smith); Hand of the King Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) and his daughter Alicent (Olivia Cooke); and Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), a.k.a. the Sea Snake, the most famed nautical adventurer in the history of Westeros.
The new batch of photos shows off new looks at these principal figures.
Ollie Upton/HBO Emma D’Arcy stars as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen in ‘House of the Dragon.’
Ollie Upton/HBO Matt Smith stars as Prince Daemon Targaryen in ‘House of the Dragon.’
Ollie Upton/HBO Olivie Cooke appears as Alicent Hightower in ‘House of the Dragon.’
Ollie Upton/HBO Rhys Ifans appears as Otto Hightower, Hand of the King and father of Alicent, in ‘House of the Dragon.’
Others officially confirmed for the cast include Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno, Fabien Frankel, Milly Alcock, Emily Carey, Ryan Corr, Jefferson Hall, David Horovitch, Graham McTavish, Matthew Needham, Bill Paterson, and Gavin Spokes.
Alcock and Carey will appear in the show as younger versions of Rhaenyra and Alicent. They duo appear to be close friends at first before things take a… you know… turn in adulthood.
Ollie Upton/HBO Milly Alcock and Emily Carey appear as younger versions of Rhaenyra and Alicent in ‘House of the Dragon.’
Among the first looks the House of the Dragon images offer us are that of Considine’s King Viserys, whose throne is the one that causes all these qualms about succession.
Fans can also see for the first time Frankel as Ser Criston Cole and Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen. Sir Criston will be a notable figure in the events that transpire on the show. He’s described as the “common-born son of the steward to the Lord of Blackhaven” who “has no claim to land or titles; all he has to his name is his honor and his preternatural skill with a sword.”
As for Rhaenys, she is known as the Queen who never was. Wife of Corlys, she was passed over for the Iron Throne once upon a time in favor of her male cousin, Viserys.
Ollie Upton/HBO Paddy Considine stars as King Viserys Targaryen in ‘House of the Dragon.’
Ollie Upton/HBO Fabien Frankel appears as Sir Criston Cole in ‘House of the Dragon.’
Ollie Upton/HBO Steve Toussaint and Eve Best star as Lord Corlys Velaryon and Princess Rhaenys Targaryen in ‘House of the Dragon.’
And finally, but not to be discarded, is Mizuno’s Mysaria. This is a woman who came to Westeros with nothing and has been sold more times than she can remember, but she’s now the most trusted ally of Prince Daemon. She’s not a prominent figure in Fire & Blood, the book of Targaryen history on which the show is based, but here’s hoping Mysaria takes a more prominent role in House of the Dragon.
Ollie Upton/HBO Sonoyo Mizuno appears as Mysaria in ‘House of the Dragon.’
While A Song of Ice & Fire author George R.R. Martin was involved on the conceptual stage, Ryan Condal (Colony, Rampage) and Thrones veteran director Miguel Sapochnik spearhead House of the Dragon as showrunners.
Martin himself has been hyping up the 10-episode first season, calling the premiere episode “dark,” “powerful,” and “visceral.”
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