House of the Dragon: Matt Smith Says Game of Thrones Prequel Is "Really Different"

03/28/2022 02:37 pm EDT

Game of Thrones fans are awaiting the trailer for House of the Dragon, but they should expect something different from HBO's upcoming prequel series. Matt Smith stars in the series as Deamon Targaryen, a member of the royal house during the civil war called "The Dance of Dragons." House of the Dragon occurs 200 years before Game of Thrones. As such, while speaking to ComicBook.com during the Morbius movie's press tour, Smith says that the series has had to forge its own distinct identity separate from its predecessor. However, as he's not seen any of the finished episodes, he couldn't speak to exactly what that means.

"I think it's really different to the original series, to be honest with you," Smith says. "I mean it has to be. The original series was its own thing and it was, it was so brilliant and, and sort of left a mark in a way that it would be impossible to repeat. So, I don't know. The truth is I haven't seen any so it's difficult for me. Essentially it's in the same world, it has to take on a slightly different identity. But who knows? I have no idea."

Being part of the Game of Thrones franchise means keeping a lot of secrets, but someone with Smith's career should be used to it. He notes that nothing quite compares to having to lie for months after being cast as the Doctor in Doctor Who.

"I think when I was making Doctor Who, that felt like -- I was younger then as well -- and there were so many episodic storylines that it built up to that you just could not reveal what was going on and it was. I remember feeling that one," he recalls. "I got the part for that nearly six to seven months before it was announced so I had to keep it a secret for like seven months that I was going to be in it; people going like, 'What are you gonna do next?' I was like, 'I don't know,' but I knew I was going to play the Doctor. So that was probably the most difficult one to keep."

According to HBO's official House of the Dragon synopsis, "The prequel series finds the Targaryen dynasty at the absolute apex of its power, with more than 15 dragons under their yoke. Most empires-real and imagined-crumble from such heights. In the case of the Targaryens, their slow fall begins almost 193 years before the events of Game of Thrones, when King Viserys Targaryen breaks with a century of tradition by naming his daughter Rhaenyra heir to the Iron Throne. But when Viserys later fathers a son, the court is shocked when Rhaenyra retains her status as his heir, and seeds of division sow friction across the realm."

What do you think? Let us know in the comments. House of the Dragon debuts on HBO in 2022.

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