Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Entertainment

House of the Dragon trailer teases Game of Thrones’ fiery past

Blair Marnell
By

“Gods, kings, fire, and blood. Dreams didn’t make us kings. Dragons did.”

HBO Max caught everyone by surprise this morning by dropping the first look at Game of Thrones‘ highly anticipated prequel series, House of the Dragon. Forget everything you think you know about Westeros and A Song of Ice and Fire. This new show takes place 200 years before the events of the original series, during the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of Dragons, so it’s unlikely we’ll see any familiar faces. That said, there are definitely some familiar elements in play.

Related Videos

Perhaps the most recognizable performer in this teaser is former Doctor Who star Matt Smith. He is playing Prince Daemon Targaryen, a fierce warrior who is also the brother of King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine). However, if Daemon has any desire for his brother’s Iron Throne, then he’ll have to get past his niece, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy). She’s the king’s daughter and perhaps destined to become Westeros’ first queen if she can survive the challenges ahead.

House Of The Dragon | Official Teaser | HBO Max

House of the Dragon was co-created by A Song of Ice and Fire novelist George R. R. Martin and screenwriter Ryan J. Condal. It may be Martin’s world, but Condal will be the showrunner who brings Martin’s vision to life.

Rhys Ifans’ character, Ser Otto Hightower, is only identifiable in the teaser by the signet of the Hand of the King. That makes him one of the most important men in the Seven Kingdoms. And if his daughter, Lady Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), has her way, she will retain her family’s influence with the king.

The Iron Throne looms in House of the Dragon.

HBO is reportedly considering another spinoff series centering on “the Sea Snake,” Lord Corlys Velaryon, who features heavily in House of the Dragon as Lord Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), Hand to Queen Rhaenyra, while Eve Best is playing his wife, Princess Rhaenys Velaryon. Rhaenys is the cousin of the king, and she also had a claim on the throne before she was passed over.

Milly Alcock as as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon.

Sonoya Mizuno also co-stars in the series as Mysaria, with Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Graham McTavish as Ser Harrold Westerling, Ryan Corr as Ser Harwin Strong, Jefferson Hall as the twins Lord Jason Lannister and Ser Tyland Lannister, David Horovitch as Grand Maester Mellos, Matthew Needham as Larys Strong, Bill Paterson as Lord Lyman Beesbury, and Gavin Spokes as Lord Lyonel Strong.

House of the Dragon will premiere on HBO and HBO Max in 2022.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Batman’s live-action future should be on HBO, not on the big screen
Robert Pattinson as the Dark Knight in red promo art for The Batman.

Matt Reeves' recent Dark Knight venture is the third major live-action rendition of the character in the last 10 years, and while it seems like a lot to already be thinking about what comes after The Batman movies, Warner Bros. Discovery and DC could do well to look to TV for the next take's future.

That might be asking a lot, especially considering the company's chaotic merger laying waste to a slew of streaming projects and DC's reputation for its use of Batman -- and lack thereof -- in the live-action TV space. However, while The Batman is an exciting fresh start for a detective-focused, neo-noir Gotham City, a shakeup in the medium of choice could give the next long-term reboot a new and tantalizing creative angle through the HBO brand.
A change of pace from the theatrical format

Read more
House of the Dragon and the power of female rage
Alicent and Rhaenyra look at each other in House of the Dragon.

HBO's flashy House of the Dragon is four episodes in, but fans are already hooked on the politics and drama in King's Landing. Following a disastrous ending to what was arguably the best television show of the new millennium, the world of Ice and Fire had a steep climb uphill to recover the audience's trust. Game of Thrones broke our collective hearts, so why should we trust this franchise again? Still, George R. R. Martin's hold on us is more powerful than Valyrian steel because we are back in Westeros and all seems forgotten and forgiven.

It's easy to see the appeal. House of the Dragon was the last chance to save Game of Thrones' stained reputation. If fans were to return to Westeros, they wanted things bigger and bolder than ever; they wanted dragons raging in the sky and fantasy elements to spare, two aspects that the original show didn't use enough. After disposing of a costly spinoff that would've expanded on the White Walker lore, HBO chose to focus on a less risky bet that would make audiences' return to Westeros more digestible: the Targaryen dynasty. The Dance of the Dragons is one of the flashier chapters in the larger World of Ice and Fire, if not the most complex. It has dragons, exciting battles, and political intrigue aplenty. Above all, it has some of the most compelling female characters in Martin's world; in fact, the Dance of the Dragons is all about women, for better and worse.

Read more
Video games to play for fans of House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings
Demon's Souls key art featuring the protagonist facing the undead and the looming Boletaria gates.

It's arguably never been a better time to be a fantasy fan, with big-name series like Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings, The Witcher, and more all in the limelight in some form or another. This year has been a massive one in particular with House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power airing at the same time, but thanks to the video game medium, there are plenty of other ways for genre enthusiasts to indulge themselves.

Several talented developer studios have crafted painstakingly detailed fantasy worlds worth getting invested in ranging a diverse catalog of franchises, with, unsurprisingly, the RPG genre lending itself best to this type of setting. And from the Middle-earth games to FromSoftware's recent collaboration with George R. R. Martin, there's an embarrassment of riches for fans of both The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and House of the Dragon.
Elden Ring

Read more