House of the Dragon: Game of Thrones Author Promises "Plenty of Dragons and Battles" in HBO Series
According to co-creator George R.R. Martin, Game of Thrones fans can expect more of the HBO series' signature epic battles in the upcoming prequel series House of the Dragon. Martin wrote Fire & Blood, the book the series is based on, and created the Game of Thrones universe. Game of Thrones' conflicted and complex character made it a hit with fans. Its epic battles like "The Battle of the Bastards" and "Hardhome" paid off long-simmering plotlines satisfyingly. In a recent update to Martin's "Not a Blog," he writes that House of the Dragon uses a similar calculus in its storytelling.
"I saw rough cuts of a couple more episodes of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, and was just as pleased as I was with the earlier episodes," Martin writes. "Ryan and Miguel and their cast and crew are doing great work. Those of you who like complex, conflicted, grey characters (as I do) will like this series, I think. There will be plenty of dragons and battles, to be sure, but the spine of the story is the human conflicts, the love and the hate, character drama rather than action/ adventure."
House of the Dragon occurs 200 years before Game of Thrones. It focuses on House Targaryen, the royal family, in the days leading up to the civil war called "The Dance of Dragons." In contrast to Martin's comments, series star Matt Smith told ComicBook.com that House of the Dragon is something different from Game of Thrones, despite taking place in the same universe.
"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."
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 stars Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D'Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans. The cast also includes Milly Alcock, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Emily Carey, Harry Collett, Ryan Corr, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jefferson Hall, David Horovitch, Wil Johnson, John Macmillan, Graham McTavish, Ewan Mitchell, Theo Nate, Matthew Needham, Bill Paterson, Phia Saban, Gavin Spokes, and Savannah Steyn. Ryan J. Condal, George R. R. Martin, Miguel Sapochnik, Vince Gerardis, Sara Lee Hess, and Ron Schmidt are the show's executive producers.
House of the Dragon debuts on HBO on August 21st.