HBO has ordered Game of Thrones’ House Targaryen prequel TV show straight to series, revealing that it will be called House of the Dragon. Miguel Sapochnik, who directed several Game of Thrones episodes including “Hardhome” and “Battle of the Bastards,” will direct the pilot and additional episodes, while also serving as showrunner alongside Ryan Condal (Colony).
House of the Dragon was co-created by Condal and A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin, and is based on Martin’s book Fire & Blood, which chronicles the history of House Targaryen. Casey Bloys, president of HBO Programming, announced a 10-episode series order for House of the Dragon during a special presentation for new subscription streaming service HBO Max. The announcement comes on the heels of news that another Game of Thrones prequel series, which was created by Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass) and set to star Naomi Watts in a leading role, has been cancelled.
The announcement of House of the Dragon’s series order also confirmed that the prequel series will be set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones - around the time that Aegon I Targaryen and his sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, launched their conquest of Westeros. The show’s tagline is “Fire Will Reign,” alluding to the fact that the Targaryens used the might of their dragons to take control of the Seven Kingdoms and begin a reign than lasted for three centuries - until finally Aerys the Mad King was slain by Jaime Lannister and Robert Baratheon ascended to the Iron Throne. That throne, incidentally, was forged from the swords that were surrendered to Aegon the Conqueror by the lords of Westeros, so we may actually get to see its creation in House of the Dragon.
Regarding the new series, Bloys said, “The ‘Game of Thrones’ universe is so rich with stories. We look forward to exploring the origins of House Targaryen and the earlier days of Westeros along with Miguel, Ryan and George.” A release window for House of the Dragon has yet to be revealed, but given that it’s still early days for the show we’re unlikely to see it premiere before 2021. Game of Thrones wrapped up its eighth and final season in May 2019, and HBO has been developing spinoff ideas for some time now, looking to create a similarly successful show set in the historical fantasy world.
House of the Dragon is the first project in an overall deal with HBO, where he will write and produce content for the network and for HBO Max. The subscription streaming service will launch in May 2020 with the entire HBO library, as well as licensed content, and is targeting 31 originals within its first year, increasing to 50 originals in 2021.
More: Game Of Thrones: Dance Of The Dragons Explained (& Why It’s A Perfect Prequel)
