Game of Thrones: winter is coming (again) in the confirmed House of The Dragon prequel

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Game of Thrones: winter is coming (again) in the confirmed House of The Dragon prequel

By Christobel Hastings

6 years ago

Game of Thrones spin-off has been confirmed, and this time around, we’re turning back 300 years to witness the fall of the House Targaryen…

As the long winter approaches, it’s been quite a week for Game of Thrones fans.

Firstly, it’s been reported by Hollywood Reporter that the GOT prequel starring Naomi Watts has been cancelled. It was meant to explore the origins of the White Walkers and the world of Westeros before the golden Age of Heroes, where its citizens were known as the Children of the Forest. Although the pilot was filmed over summer, the report says that it won’t be continuing any further. But this is still to be confirmed by HBO.

However, another prequel, about the Targaryens, has been given the official go-ahead.

HBO confirmed the news on Tuesday (29 October) that it has given a 10-episode order to House of the Dragon, which is set 300 years before the series that ended in May. Casting and an air date have not been announced, but this news is enough to warm us up over the cold months of winter.

News of the Game of Thrones Targaryen prequel pilot was first announced by Deadline earlier this year. It was reported that House of The Dragon will be produced by George R R Martin, who has teamed up with acclaimed screenwriter and producer Ryan Condal for the new series.

Set 300 years before the beginning of Game of Thrones, the prequel will explore the bloody downfall of the silver-haired ancestors of Daenerys Targaryen, a tyrannical dynasty who will take what’s theirs with fire and blood, not to mention the help of some fearsome dragons.

Martin is reportedly taking inspiration for the prequel from his 2018 book Fire & Blood, a prequel to A Song of Ice and Fire, upon which Game of Thrones is based, which follows the story of the Targaryen dynasty, Aegon’s conquest and reign, and the subsequent reigns of his descendants Aenys, Maegor, Jaehaerys, Viserys, Aegon II, and Aegon III. 

Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in epiosde 4 season 8 of HBO's Game of Thrones

Credit: HBO

Deadline’s scoop confirmed an earlier blog post from Martin, in which he revealed that three projects were “moving along nicely,” in production at HBO.

“We have had five different Game of Thrones successor shows in development at HBO, and three of them are still moving forward nicely,” he wrote on his LiveJournal blog Not a Blog.

“Two other shows remain in the script stage, but are edging closer. What are they about? I cannot say.

“But maybe some of you should pick up a copy of Fire & Blood and come up with your own theories.”

Although we don’t have a release date, the series was announced by HBO programming president Casey Bloys during a presentation for HBO Max, the streaming service launching in May 2020. House of The Dragon would be a key attraction to the platform, which suggests it could be released as part of the launch. 

We’ll have to wait for more confirmed details. 

Images: HBO

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