You might be inclined to think that there’s nothing even remotely similar about the Star Wars galaxy and George R.R. Martin’s grimdark fantasy world, but House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal is here to dissuade you of that thought train with a compelling argument.
In a profile run by The Hollywood Reporter, the crew of the ambitious spinoff series talked about the story and what it was like to return to Westeros after Game of Thrones. At one point, Condal discussed the importance of being completely faithful to Martin’s source material and why the Targaryens are — as weird as it might sound — like the Jedi in the original Star Wars trilogy.
“I’ve been a fan of these books for 20 years. I was a fan of Game of Thrones — I watched the pilot the night it aired on HBO and every episode after. You can’t follow Thrones, it’s the Beatles. I’m setting out as a fan to make the thing I want to see, and I’m happy with what we’ve achieved. The Targaryens are like the Jedi in Star Wars, where you heard about this time when they were plentiful and powerful and always wanted to see that. And now you get to.”
The Jedi and Targaryens both used to be enigmatic before their respective universes unveiled their true history, but that’s unfortunately where the similarities end. I mean, you could hardly hope to find a common ground between the so-called “warriors of peace and justice in the old Republic” and the sovereign Targaryens who brought about a three-hundred-year reign of fire and blood to the Seven Kingdoms.
House of the Dragon is returning next week with a panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, and then slowly inching its way closer to the Aug. 21 premiere on HBO, so stay tuned for more on the world of Westeros.
