House of the Dragon: George RR Martin Explains Whether Writers' Strike Affects Season 2
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) enacted a strike at the start of May, bringing all written film and television work to a halt across Hollywood. Obviously any projects still in the writing phases of development and production have been shut down, but many TV shows that were already being filmed came to a stop as well. Without writers, scripts can't be changed or adjusted, which is vital to nearly every TV production. Some shows have opted to move forward with the scripts they already have, including HBO's hit Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon.
House of the Dragon's second season began filming on April 11, just a couple of weeks before the looming strike was set to start. There's still a very long way to go for the eight episode season, but the production is pressing on. That is allowed during the strike, given that all of the scripts were turned in before the strike began, but the series will be facing a tough battle going forward.
George R.R. Martin, the creator of the Game of Thrones franchise and executive producer on House of the Dragon, took to his personal blog this weekend to address the strike. Being a writer, Martin wholeheartedly supports the WGA's efforts for fair wages and treatment, and he explained that there will be no more writing on House of the Dragon's second season, keeping in line with the strike.
"The second season of House of the Dragon started filming April 11 and will continue in London and Wales," Martin wrote. "The scripts for the eight S2 episodes were all finished months ago, long before the strike began. Every episode has gone through four or five drafts and numerous rounds of revisions, to address HBO notes, my notes, budget concerns, etc. There will be no further revisions. The writers have done their jobs; the rest is in the hands of the directors, cast and crew... and of course the dragons."
In other words, House of the Dragon's second season has to be shot exactly as it is written right now. There can not be rewrites during the shoot. The only way that will change is if an agreement is reached and the strike ends during production. There's a good chance that won't be the case.