With House of the Dragon soon gearing up for another season on HBO, here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming second season of the Game of Thrones spinoff series and what it will entail for our Westerosi power players.
The first season of House of the Dragon introduced fans to the Targaryen dynasty before their downfall during the reign of Aerys Targaryen, aka the Mad King. The prequel show picks up the narrative almost 200 years before Robert Baratheon’s rebellion, so while this version of the Seven Kingdoms may be aesthetically similar to its predecessor, it features a completely new ensemble.
By the finale, the so-called Blacks and Greens — one referring to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s loyalists and the other Alicent Hightower’s forces — all but initiated the infamous Dance of Dragons, the civil war that laid devastation to the Targaryen House and brought about the end of the dragons.
Prince Aemond Targaryen accidentally caused the death of Rhaenyra’s son Lucerys, and the last moments of House of the Dragon season 1 lingered on her face as she contemplated bringing the full wrath of the blood of Old Valyria to bear on her enemies.
That takes us to season 2, which has been filming since April 2023.
When will House of the Dragon season 2 come out?
As mentioned above, the Game of Thrones crew has been filming House of the Dragon since April. Given that the WGA strike didn’t affect the new HBO show, the creative team was able to power through the industry’s most tumultuous and uncertain period. Now, having wrapped principal photography in September, it’s safe to assume that we’ll see the second season sometime in 2024.
Indeed, the first trailer for season 2 also seems to confirm this, at least for the time being.
Do we have a trailer for House of the Dragon season 2?
Indeed, HBO has just released the first teaser trailer for House of the Dragon season 2, which shows Rhaenyra and Alicent clashing and bringing about the Dance of Dragons in earnest. The action scenes seem to have been dialed up a notch, which is good news considering the events of the source material. The CGI is a bit rough at this stage, but the trailer once again highlights the insane production value of the series, a far cry from some of HBO’s current rivals like The Rings of Power and The Witcher.
What’s more, the teaser confirms a “summer 2024” release window for season 2, so we can expect to experience the next run in just a few months.
House of the Dragon season 2 cast: Who is returning and who is new?
Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith, Steve Toussaint, Ewan Mitchell, Rhys Ifans, and many other familiar faces are returning for season 2. In addition to the regulars, we’ll see the debut of several newcomers, including Tom Taylor, Clinton Liberty, Jamie Kenna, Tom Bennett, Vincent Regan, and Kieran Bew, who’ll be portraying Lord Cregan Stark, Addam of Hull, Ser Alfred Broome, Ulf, Ser Rickard Thorne, and Hugh, respectively.
The only palpable absence will be Paddy Considine’s brilliant and charismatic King Viserys, who succumbed to his ailments at the end of season 1.
What will happen in House of the Dragon season 2?
As with its first run, House of the Dragon will continue to adapt the works of George R.R. Martin, and in specific his new prequel novel Fire & Blood. Since there are numerous other Game of Thrones spinoff shows in the works, and most of them take place in the past, House of the Dragon only opts to showcase the Targaryen civil war, and not much after it. That means the show will end with its third or fourth season, and the upcoming second chapter will mostly deal with the devastating war between the dragon riders.
To give you a precise reference point, the first season adapted the “Heirs of the Dragon” and the first part of “The Dying of the Dragons: The Blacks and the Greens” chapters, so if you don’t want to spoil yourself ahead of summer 2024, just make sure to not read Fire & Blood beyond this part. As for where season 2 will leave us off, well that is a question only time will tell.
Published: Dec 4, 2023 03:26 pm