Those dragons are swift but silent, hey? Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon has really snuck up on us, all set to hit HBO’s streaming screens on August 22.
Set 200 years before Mother of Dragons Daenerys attempted an almighty Targaryen coup for the Iron Throne, the epic (and epically expensive) series House of the Dragon can only be watched on NOW this August 22 for UK subscribers. And we’ve even been treated to a new bumper trailer below, giving behind-the-scenes info and revealing even more of the pre-GOT Westeros.
The dastardly cap-wearing rascal who authored this whole thing, George R.R. Martin, admits in the promotional footage that he’s nervous about handing his baby off to “foster parents” again, but believes deeply in the talents of showrunner Ryan J. Condal and Emmy-winning director Miguel Sapochnik.
As the trailer continues, ominous shots of the Iron Throne give way to stunning sets springing up before our eyes, and Condal fooling around with a broadsword in the writer’s room. None of the show’s acting talent get a word in—not even narrator Matt Smith, playing a nasty uncle, or Paddy Considine looking regal on the throne. We’ll have to wait for the pilot episode to see that.
As tantalising as this lengthy teaser is, House of The Dragon still has some convincing to do: fans were overwhelmingly disappointed with the last few seasons of Game of Thrones, and author George R.R. Martin still hasn’t released the long, long-awaited seventh book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Dream of Spring. At this point we might be a few seasons into House of the Dragon before he ever gets started on the damn thing.
That reduced faith and enthusiasm in the world of GOT has perhaps forced HBO and its creators to be a bit more careful with House of The Dragon. Another planned prequel series starring Naomi Watts, which would’ve shown us Westeros thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, was quickly snuffed out during development.
Let’s hope that all the ice and fire and blonde family bonding can come together to make House of The Dragon another epic fantasy phenomenon, when it premieres in August. Who needs those Stark brats around to make things interesting, anyways?
