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- House of the Dragon season 2 has started filming.
- HBO is expected to renew the show for season 3 soon.
- Season 2 will likely premiere in summer 2024.
Let the Dance of the Dragons begin. House of the Dragon is coming back for a second season, and it’s going to be epic. The hit HBO series and Game of Thrones prequel got the season 2 greenlight back in August 2022, just days after its premiere. HBO announced on April 11, 2023, that season 2 was now in production. A new photo of the Iron Throne was also released.
It’s time to return to King’s Landing.
Season 2 of #HouseoftheDragon is now in production. pic.twitter.com/lGSQSq6oK9— House of the Dragon (@HouseofDragon) April 11, 2023
“House of the Dragon has returned. We are thrilled to be shooting again with members of our original family as well as new talents on both sides of the camera,” co-creator, showrunner/executive producer Ryan Condal said in a statement. “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.”
With such a huge production, there’s already a lot we know about House of the Dragon season 2. From premiere date news to casting rumors, HollywoodLife is breaking down everything we know so far about the second season.
Emma D’Arcy and Matt Smith as Rhaenyra and Daemon. (HBO)
House Of The Dragon Season 2 Premiere Date
House of the Dragon season 2 doesn’t have an exact premiere date yet. HBO and HBO Max content CEO Casey Bloys recently told Variety that it’s a “good guess” that House of the Dragon season 2 will premiere in 2024.
He didn’t reveal a specific date or time of year, but he did hint that season 2 wouldn’t be eligible for 2024 Emmys. The eligibility period for the 2024 Emmys ends on May 31, 2024. This means that House of the Dragon season 2 will likely premiere in summer 2024 or later. Filming for season 2 began in April 2023 at Leavesden Studios in the United Kingdom and will last the majority of the year.
The first season of House of the Dragon premiered in August 2022. If the show does return in summer 2024, that will be a nearly 2-year wait between seasons.
“We are beyond proud of what the entire House of the Dragon team has accomplished with season 1. Our phenomenal cast and crew undertook a massive challenge and exceeded all expectations, delivering a show that has already established itself as must-see TV. A huge thank you to George, Ryan, and Miguel for leading us on this journey. We couldn’t be more excited to continue bringing to life the epic saga of House Targaryen with season 2,” Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO Programming, said in a statement.
How Many Episodes Of House Of The Dragon Season 2 Will There Be?
House of the Dragon season 2 will consist of 8 episodes, according to Deadline. The second season will be a shorter season compared to the 10-episode first season. The 8-episode season 2 is part of a “long-term plan for the show” after showrunner Ryan Condal and author George R.R. Martin looked at the show as a whole and mapped out the series.
The “initial plan” for season 2 was indeed 10 episodes. When that changed, scripts underwent rewrites. An HBO spokesperson told the outlet that the shorter season was story-driven and not part of cost-cutting measures for Warner Bros. Discovery.
What Will Happen In House Of The Dragon Season 2?
House of the Dragon follows George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, which tells the history of House Targaryen. The series focuses on the Dance of the Dragons, a deadly civil war within House Targaryen. The first season ended with Prince Aegon II usurping the throne (with the help of his mother Queen Alicent and the Greens) and being crowned King of the Seven Kingdoms in the wake of King Viserys I Targaryen’s death.
Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon II Targaryen. (HBO)
King Viserys had previously anointed his eldest child, Princess Rhaenrya, as his successor. His decision was met with criticism by many over the idea of a female ruler. After lingering scandal over the legitimacy of her first three children, Rhaenrya left King’s Landing for Dragonstone. By the end of the season, she had married Prince Daemon Targaryen, her uncle, and had three more children. Tragically, Rhaenyra and Daemon’s daughter was stillborn.
The season 1 finale set the Dance of the Dragons in motion. Rhaenyra’s son, Lucerys Velaryon, was sent to Storm’s End as an envoy for the Blacks to raise support for Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne. While in Storm’s End, he crossed paths with Aemond Targaryen. Aemond had long held a grudge against Lucerys for taking out his eye when they were kids. Aemond taunted Lucerys while on dragonback in the final moments of the finale, and Vhagar accidentally ate Lucerys and his dragon, Arrax.
Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen. (HBO)
If House of the Dragon season 2 continues to follow the timeline of Fire & Blood, things are about to get very dicey in Westeros. Here are some of the key moments and a crucial character to look forward to:
Blood & Cheese
Blood and Cheese will inevitably be one of the most shocking moments in House of the Dragon history. As told in Fire & Blood, Blood and Cheese’s actions were a direct response to Lucerys’ death. Blood, a butcher, and Cheese, a ratcatcher, were hired by Daemon to kill Prince Jaehaerys, King Aegon II’s firstborn son and his heir to the Iron Throne.
Blood and Cheese broke into the Red Keep and held Alicent, Helaena, and her three children captive. The captors forced Helaena to choose which of her sons, Jaehaerys or Maelor, would die. Helaena offered her own life, but they refused. She eventually chose her youngest, Maelor, to die, but Blood and Cheese killed Jaehaerys instead.
Battle at Rook’s Rest
While there’s no official word about how far into the Dance of the Dragons season 2 will get, it’s likely to feature the Battle at Rook’s Rest. This was a key battle in the Dance that ended in Rhaenys’ death and Aegon II getting severely injured.
Cregan Stark
At the end of the first season, Rhaenyra’s oldest son, Jaehaerys, was sent to Winterfell to meet with Cregan Stark. During Jace’s time at Winterfell, he and Cregan formed a close bond. Cregan will be a crucial figure down the road.
House Of The Dragon Season 2 Cast
The main characters of House of the Dragon season 1 will be back in season 2. This includes Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenrya Targaryen, Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon II Targaryen, Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen, Harry Collett as Jacaerys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Criston Cole, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon, Eve Best as Rhaenys Targaryen, Matthew Needham as Larys Strong, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Elliot Tittensor as Erryk Cargyll, Luke Tittensor as Arryk Cargyll, Bethany Antonia as Baela Targaryen, and Phoebe Campbell as Rhaena Targaryen. Phia Saban and Jefferson Hall will also return as Helaena Targaryen and Ser Tyland Lannister.
Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower. (HBO)
The role of Cregan Stark has not been officially cast yet. However, fans have theorized that Vikings: Valhalla star Leo Suter may have been cast as Cregan because Fabien and Emma followed him on Instagram. HBO has not confirmed any casting news yet.
The first half of House of the Dragon season 1 featured breakout stars Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as young Rhaenyra and Alicent. When the show flashed forward 10 years, Emma and Olivia took over the roles.
Showrunner Ryan Condal revealed that Milly and Emily will not be seen in flashbacks in the second season, but he isn’t ruling out a return in the future. “[They] are not a part of the story that we’re telling yet,” he told Variety. “That’s not a thing that we’re doing right now.”
Behind the scenes, there’s been a major shift going into season 2. Director Miguel Sapochnik, the show’s co-showrunner in season 1, stepped down ahead of the second season. He will still serve as an executive producer moving forward. Alan Taylor, who directed several Game of Thrones episodes, has joined the show as an executive producer and is set to direct several season 2 episodes, according to THR.
Will There Be House Of The Dragon Season 3?
HBO is already “mulling a green light for a third season” of House of the Dragon, according to Deadline. The creative team is looking for House of the Dragon to run 3 or 4 seasons and has been working on what stories and those major battles to include in which season. Season 3 is reportedly already “mapped out,” and the network is “seriously considering” moving forward with it sooner rather than later.
Harry Collett as Jacaerys Velaryon. (HBO)
A “portion of the plot” was originally set for season 2, including a major battle, but is now moving into season 3. That major battle is likely the Battle Above the God’s Eye, an epic face-off between Daemon and Aemond. As of right now, it’s looking like House of the Dragon will run for a total of 4 seasons.
George previously said that he wanted to be able to tell the entire story of the Dance of the Dragons across 4 seasons. “It is going to take four full seasons of 10 episodes each to do justice to the Dance of the Dragons, from start to finish,” the author and show co-creator wrote on his blog in October 2022.
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