-"Fire will reign"
House of the Dragon, also marketed as Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon, is an upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series. It was ordered by HBO in October 2019. House of the Dragon will heavily involve the dragonlord ancestors of Daenerys Targaryen, as well as the Dance of the Dragons. The prequel goes back approximately 200 years to center on the beginning of the end of the once all-powerful dynasty that dominated the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.
Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik will serve as showrunners and executive producers. George R.R. Martin, Vince Gerardis, Sara Hess, and Ron Schmidt will also serve as executive producers, with Greg Yaitanes as co-executive producer. The first season will premiere on August 21, 2022.
** Note this article contains spoilers!**
Overview
The concept for House of the Dragon was first pitched by George R.R. Martin in the summer of 2016. With the launch of HBO Max in May 2020, the House of the Dragon prequel is based on Martin's bestselling Fire & Blood. The first installment in the prequel book series was published in November 2018. It received a 10-episode straight-to-series order. Miguel Sapochnik will direct the pilot and additional episodes.
The title of the show derives from a passage from A Game of Thrones Chapter 3, Daenerys I: The water was scalding hot, but Daenerys did not flinch or cry out. She liked the heat. It made her feel clean. Besides, her brother had often told her that it was never too hot for a Targaryen. "Ours is the house of the dragon," he would say. "The fire is in our blood."
Plot
"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."
―Logline
Cast
This list of characters describes their location and status as of the first episode of the series.
Paddy Considine as King Viserys I Targaryen, the King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men.
Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, the younger brother and heir presumptive of King Viserys.
Emma D'Arcy and Milly Alcock (young) as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the first-born child of King Viserys.
Tom Glynn-Carney, Jake Heard, and Rory Heard as Prince Aegon Targaryen.
Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen.
Phia Saban as Princess Helaena Targaryen.
Bethany Antonia as Lady Baela Targaryen.
Phoebe Campbell as Lady Rhaena Targaryen.
Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King to King Viserys.
Olivia Cooke and Emily Carey (young) as Alicent Hightower, the daughter of Otto.
Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, "the Sea Snake", the Lord of Driftmark.
Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, "the Queen Who Never Was", the wife of Lord Corlys, originally of House Targaryen.
Savannah Steyn as Lady Laena Velaryon, the daughter of Lord Corlys and Princess Rhaenys.
John Macmillan and Theo Nate (young) as Ser Laenor Velaryon, the son of Lord Corlys and Princess Rhaenys.
Wil Johnson as Ser Vaemond Velaryon, the younger brother of Lord Corlys and commander in the Velaryon navy.
Harry Collett as Prince Jacaerys Velaryon.
Gavin Spokes as Lord Lyonel Strong, the Lord of Harrenhal and Master of Laws to King Viserys.
Ryan Corr as Ser Harwin 'Breakbones' Strong, the eldest son of Lord Lyonel and heir to Harrenhal.
Matthew Needham as Larys Strong, the younger son of Lord Lyonel.
Jefferson Hall as Lord Jason Lannister, the Lord of Casterly Rock and twin to Ser Tyland.
Jefferson Hall as Ser Tyland Lannister, twin to Lord Jason.
Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, the common-born son of the steward to the Lord of Blackhaven.
Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, the most trusted ally of Prince Daemon.
David Horovitch as Grand Maester Mellos, a trusted advisor to King Viserys.
Graham McTavish as Ser Harrold Westerling, a knight of the Kingsguard.
Bill Paterson as Lord Lyman Beesbury, the Lord of Honeyholt and Master of Coin to King Viserys.
Crew
Producers
George R.R. Martin: co-creator & executive producer
Ryan Condal: co-creator, executive producer & showrunner
Miguel Sapochnik: executive producer & showrunner
Vince Gerardis: executive producer
Sara Hess: executive producer
Ron Schmidt: executive producer
Ira Parker: co-executive producer
Greg Yaitanes: co-executive producer
Writers
Ryan Condal: episodes 1, 2, and 10; co-writer on episode 3
Gabe Fonseca: episode 3 (co-written with Condal)
Ira Parker: episode 4
Charmaine DeGraté: episode 5 (with some revisions by Hess)
Sara Hess: episodes 6 and 9 (and some revisions to episode 5 with DeGraté)
Kevin Lau: episode 7
Eileen Shim: episode 8
Ti Mikkel (not credited with a specific episode but part of roundtable discussions)
Directors
Miguel Sapochnik: episodes 1, 6 and 7
Greg Yaitanes: episodes 2, 3 and 10
Clare Kilner: episodes 4, 5 and 9
Geeta V. Patel: episode 8
Cinematographers
Each cinematographer (director of photography) is paired with a specific director's filming unit:
Fabian Wagner (with Miguel Sapochnik)
Pepe Avila del Pino (with Greg Yaitanes)
Alejandro Martínez (with Clare Kilner)
Catherine Goldschmidt (with Geeta Patel)
Staff
Ramin Djawadi: composer
Jany Temime: costume designer
Jim Clay: production designer
Tim Porter: film editor
Crispin Green: film editor
Lauren DeSantis: virtual production coordinator
Simon Brindle: costume armor supervisor
David J. Peterson: language consultant
Michael Dawson: visual effects supervisor
Daren Bailey: marine coordinator
Steve Weightman: key grip
Jack Parry: best boy grip
Clive Williams: Libra Head technician
Kate Rhodes James: casting director
Filming locations
St Michael's Mount in Cornwall
Overview
House of the Dragon will have its main production headquarters at Warner Bros Leavesden Studios in Watford, England. This is presumably where all their interior sets will be constructed and filmed.
England
Cornwall
Filming for Season 1 began in late April 2021, beginning with a two week shoot in Cornwall in the southwest corner of England. Extensive filming was done at St. Michael's Mount, an island castle believed to be depicting Driftmark, the ancestral seat of House Velaryon. Several scenes were also filmed at scenic Holywell Beach, including ones used in the first promo images for Daemon Targaryen and adult Rhaenyra Targaryen.
Filming returned to Cornwall for the second full week of September 2021, from September 13-17 (after filming in Derbyshire the week before). Filming returned to Holywell Beach, including scenes featuring young Rhaenyra and young Laenor Velaryon, and battle scenes believed to be set in the Stepstones. Filming also expanded to film at Kynance Cove, a beach with rock formations which is farther east along the southern coast from St. Michael's Mount. An extensive Velaryon army camp in the Stepstones was constructed at Kynance Cove.
Derbyshire
After the first Cornwall shoot ended in mid-May 2021, exterior filming resumed the first week of September in Derbyshire, in northern England. Spy reports revealed that filming was taking place in the Peak District, the southern end of the Pennine mountain chain, located roughly between Manchester and Sheffield. Matt Smith was spotted in costume, then a large spy report in the DailyMail showed photos of Graham McTavish, Emily Carey, and Milly Alcock in full costume.
Surrey
The third week of September 2021, filming shifted from Cornwall to Surrey, southwest of London. A large tournament set was built outside of Aldershot.
Spain and Portugal
Cáceres, Spain - a returning location from Game of Thrones Season 7, which was used for the streets of King's Landing and Oldtown. According to reports, a dozen different locations in the city will be extensively used to represent the streets of King's Landing.
Trujillo, Spain - A short drive east from Cáceres. Also a returning location from Game of Thrones Season 7, in which the old Arab castle was used for landward side of the city walls of King's Landing when Jaime and Bronn are standing atop them looking at Daenerys's army arrive.
Monsanto, Portugal - a short drive west from Cáceres, Spain. Home to a famous mountain-top medieval castle, now in ruins.
This article uses material from the “House of the Dragon” article on the Game of Thrones wiki at Fandom and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.
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