MOVIE NEWS – The wait is finally over, and in addition to the HBO announcement, we’ve also learned a lot of exciting details about House of Dragons, the most exciting prequel to Game of Thrones.

HBO has announced the official premiere date for House of the Dragon. Serving as a prequel to Game of Thrones, the story will follow an all-new cast of characters two hundred years before the events of the parent series. It was already expected to arrive sometime this year, and HBO officially announced on Wednesday that House of the Dragon would premiere on HBO Max on August 21, 2022.

Intrigue in the Cube

Directed by Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik, the series will take viewers back to the heyday of the House of Targaryen, the period covered in George R.R. Martin’s novel Fire & Blood, which forms the basis of the series’ plot. It was a time when, alongside the glory of the Targaryens, the pride, arrogance and madness of the family, which is so characteristic of the bloodline, was at its height, culminating in a horrific event that shook the whole of Westeros and is remembered as the Dance of the Dragons…

Unsurprisingly, the story will again focus on the intrigue of the mighty in a struggle for the throne.

The leading roles are played by Paddy Considine (King Viserys I Targaryen), Emma D’Arcy (Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen), Olivia Cooke (Lady Alicent Hightower), Matt Smith (Prince Daemon Targaryen) and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. Also appearing are Steve Toussaint as Lord Coryls Velaryon, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Faben Frankel as Ser Criston Cole and Graham McTavish as Ser Harrold Westerling. Wil Johnson joins them as Ser Vaemond Velaryon, John Macmillan as Ser Laenor Velaryon, Savannah Steyn as Lady Laena Velayron and Theo Nate as Ser Laenor Velaryon.

Promising beginnings

As you may recall, Game of Thrones ended controversially with the final season, which drew considerable criticism from fans and even sparked a petition for HBO to start the last episodes from scratch. Because of this, some fans may be wary of House of Dragons. However, it’s important to note that the showrunners of the original series – who are usually blamed for the last few seasons’ slumps – David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, are not involved in the prequel series. It comes from a completely different creative team and has already won the original author, George R.R. Martin’s approval.

“Exciting news out of London – I am informed that shooting has WRAPPED for the first season of House of the Dragon,” Martin wrote on his blog back in February.

“Yes, all ten episodes. I have seen rough cuts of a few of them, and I’m loving them. Of course, a lot more work needs to be done. Special effects, color timing, score, all the post production work. But the writing, the directing, the acting all look terrific. I hope you will like them as much as I do. My hat is off to Ryan and Miguel and their team, and to our amazing cast.”

We know that Master Martin isn’t always right, but we have to admit that this colossal enthusiasm is confidence-inspiring. In any case, we’ll see how well the series lives up to fans’ expectations when it premieres on HBO and HBO Max on August 21, 2022. Until then, Game of Thrones is streaming on HBO Max.

Source: Variety

August 21. #HouseoftheDragon pic.twitter.com/xH6T7b9sa9

— House of the Dragon (@HouseofDragon) March 30, 2022