HBO's House of the Dragon Has Per-Episode Budget Higher Than Game of Thrones' Final Season
HBO's Game of Thrones spin-off, House of the Dragon, will finally premiere later this summer and will hopefully give fans their Westeros fix. The series looks very different compared to the original series, will have a different plot line, and will feature a lot more dragons. So, you'd assume that the budget for House of the Dragon would eclipse the original series, and you'd be right. According to Variety, HBO is shelling out almost $20 million an episode for the first season of the spin-off. In comparison to the final season of Game of Thrones, which cost the network $15 million, it feels pretty safe to say that HBO is putting all out the stops for House of the Dragon.
House of the Dragon star Matt Smith recently did the press tour for Morbius and sat down with ComicBook.com to discuss the upcoming Game of Thrones spin-off. Smith revealed that the series is "really different" compared to the original series and some other things. Check out what the actor had to say about the series below.
"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."
Not much is known about the plot of House of the Dragon, but the series is expected to follow Game of Thrones' iconic Targaryen family. The series stars Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke, Emma D'Arcy, Matt Smith, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Rhys Ifans, Sonoya Mizuno, Fabien Frankel, Milly Alcock, Emily Carey, Ryan Corr, Jefferson Hall, David Horovitch, and Graham McTavish.
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."
House of the Dragon will premiere on HBO Max on August 21st, 2022.
What do you think of the budget for the series? Are you excited to see House of the Dragon? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!