House of the Dragon Season 2 Starts Production

HBO announced that production has begun on the second season of House of the Dragon. The series rapidly became an instant success, delivering HBO its most-watched season finale since Game of Thrones when it bowed in October. That House of the Dragons finale was viewed by 9.3 million people on all platforms over the course of its Sunday night airing, which is even more impressive given the stiff competition of Sunday Night Football and the MLB playoffs. That was the largest audience for an HBO finale since Game of Thrones came to an end in 2019. Now, fans can start anticipating Season 2 of House of the Dragons.

House of the Dragon shared a behind-the-scenes image of the Iron Throne to mark the start of production on Season 2. The HBO Original drama is filming at Leavesden Studios in the United Kingdom, and is based on George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood novel. House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, telling the story of House Targaryen.

"House of the Dragon has returned," said Ryan Condal, co-creator/showrunner/executive producer of House of the Dragon. "We are thrilled to be shooting again with members of our original family as well as new talents on both sides of the camera. All your favorite characters will soon be conspiring at the council tables, marching with their armies, and riding their dragons into battle. We can't wait to share what we have in store."

HBO Discussing Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon Prequel

HBO is said to be "actively discussing" a new Game of Thrones series that would be a prequel to the current House of the Dragon spinoff, focusing on the Targaryen who started the dynasty: Aegon the Conqueror. 

The report from Variety notes that this Aegon I Targaryen series is "in its very early stages" of development, and has no writer attached. There is an interesting note that HBO is at least considering doing a feature film project about Aegon the Conqueror that would then lead into the TV series. – though that kind of planning is said to be "in flux at present." 

Thanks to House of the Dragon the story of Aegon I Targaryen has become more well-known than it ever was during the run of Game of Thrones in the 2010s. Aegon is the Targaryen Lord who married both of his sisters, Visenya and Rhaenys, forming a fierce triad along with their dragons, Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes. Together with his sister-wives, Aegon conquered six of the seven kingdoms of Westeros (save for Dorne), and ruled them for years, establishing a Targaryen dynasty that would extend for generations. 

House of the Dragon Season 2 stars Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D'Arcy, Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans. Additional returning cast includes Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, and Matthew Needham.