Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon Comic-Con 2022 Panel Recap and Footage

By Kofi Outlaw

Game of Thrones will continue with the highly-anticipated prequel series House of the Dragon, which just dropped its epic full trailer during San Diego Comic-Con 2022. Now is the time for the official House of the Dragon panel at SDCC, where Game of Thrones fans can finally learn more about the series! 

Panelist included cast members Matt Smith, Steve Toussaint, Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Emma D'Arcy, Emily Carey, co-creator Ryan Condal, Mily Alcock, and George R.R. Martin. Showrunner Miguel Sapochnik was diagnosed with COVID and sent his hello to Hall H through a statement read by Emma D'Arcy. 

The panel started with discussion of how House of the Dragon fits in to Game of Thrones canon. Matt Smith and Paddy Considine talk about their brotherly dynamic as the King and immediate heir of the Targaryen dynasty. 

Eve Best talks about how her character,  Rhaenys Velaryon, is frustrated as "The Queen Who Never Was," and the desire for power that creates. Steve Toussaint teased his sea-voyaging character, "The Sea Snake" Corys Velaryon, and the nine voyages that bring him fame, D'Arcy talks about her character learning how to play the game in the Targaryen dynasty, and how to control the flame inside of her. 

George R.R. Martin talks about the anxiety of letting HBO and the show creators "adopt" his children, and use them. He's seen all ten episodes and can safely say he's very pleased with the outcome. He was meeting the cast for the first time in Hall H. 

Condal teases the dragon designs for House of the Dragon, stating there were 17 dragons at the height of the Targaryen Dynasy. (Forgive spelling) Coraxees is listed as the biggest and most fierce of them.

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The question of what kinds of changes the cast would make to their medieval costume concepts gets the hilarious response form Matt Smith that he would let the cast go with hair dye instead of the intricate wig work Game of Thrones is now known for. "It takes and hour and a half to put on, and it's a pain in the ass!" 

Olivia Cooke says medieval dresses and undergarments got so dirty and "covered in sh*t," and it's disgusting to have to live that reality. 

When asked what are the best qualities of a good Iron Throne ruller, George R.R. Martin says it's a king who "looks at ruling as a duty, not a privelege." He goes into examples of kings who build roads and concern themselves with such matters. He describes Viserys as the type of kind who is concerned with the strength of his empire. Ryan Condal echoes this for the show version of Viserys, and references how the actual king may not be well reflected in the legacy he leaves behind in Game of Thrones. 

Emma D'Arcy and George R.R. Martin take on the harder question of the sexism in ruling heirarcy – both in Game of Thrones and real life. Martin defends Westeros as a reflection of real history and socio-politics (he gives a brief lesson on the children of Henry VIII); D'Arcy says it's an ongoing problem IRL, which roused a lot of people in the crowd. D'Arcy said a real appeal of House of the Dragon is the question of how female rulers get male subjects to bend the knee. 

The cast talk about whet kind of fun they had on set – a story about one actor tearing into chocolate at the end of every day got laughs; when asked if there's anything they wanted or took from set, Paddy Considine gets upset that HBO didn't let him keep his knife. He teases that he did steal something, but refuses to say what it is, because no one has noticed it missing yet. 

Emily Carey talks about using journaling IRL to fill in gaps and flesh-out her character, Allison. Paddy takes on a question about dragon riding with a hilarious anecdote about how he once broke into a sound stage and rode a Falkor from The Neverending Story. 

Alcock admits riding the faux dragons in front of green screen when fans are being blown on you is "weird." Best counters that the dragons feel weirdly alive since they make noises and shrieks. 

Ryan Condal talks about stalking his way into George R.R. Martin's company. Ten years ago he was in Santa Fe and Martin was and they had a dinner when Condal fanned out over his books. They would meet annually for years, until one day Martin offered Condal the spinoff series job. 

Q&A

The very first question of the Q&A was for Matt Smith, and it was actually more of a rally cry than a question: "Hey Matt -- it's Morbin Time!"

Smith had no idea what the reference is, but the fan explained how Morbius had inspired the popular meme of Smith's villainous dance sequence in the film. Smith thanked the fan for "watching a different film." The fan tried to pull it together by humorously asking what qualities of his Morbius character he would bring to House of the Dragon. 

George R.R. Martin was asked if he has a cameo in the show. He admits he's been a bit of a shut-in since COVID and that he's still working on a certain book "it's a little late." Martin joked about his aborted cameos in the original Game of Thrones; he was cut from the pilot episode, and was supposed to one of the heads that Joffrey decorates Kings Landing with, but it didn't work out. It was cheaper to go with a box of used severed heads. Ironically, those used heads became much more costly: one of them was President Geroge W. Bush, and that controversy got GoT in trouble, and led to the Bush head having to be digitally replaced later. 

Condal and Martin respond to a question of how hard it is to write about all these characters and history. Condal admits keeping all this continuity and character histories straight is indeed hard – but Martin insists that he does not like to underestimate the intelligence of his audience. 

Final question was equally funny: Did HBO ban coffee cups from the House of the Dragon set? According to Matt Smith: "No." 

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