Production is finally underway on House of the Dragon, the hotly anticipated Game of Thrones prequel, and HBO has gone ahead and revealed the first official images from the show to increase the hype. The series, which focuses on the House of Targaryen, stars Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Rhys Ifans and Steve Toussaint, with these three new photos showcasing the five leads in character.
Smith (The Crown) plays the roguish Prince Daemon, brother to King Viserys I (Paddy Considine, not pictured) and uncle to ambitious Princess Rhaenyra (D’Arcy). Meanwhile, Harry Potter star Ifans portrays Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, with Cooke (Ready Player One) as his daughter Allicent, described as “the most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms.” Elsewhere, Toussaint is Lord Corlys Velaryon, AKA famous seafarer the Sea Snake. Fans of George R.R. Martin’s novel Fire & Blood will know that he becomes the Hand of Queen Rhaenyra during the Dance of the Dragons.
Father and daughter, uncle and niece and the lone Sea Snake are depicted in these new photos, which you can see in the gallery below:
The series is set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones and is based around the aforementioned Dance of the Dragons, a fierce civil war that raged between siblings Rhaenyra and Aegon once their father died that threatened to ravage all of Westeros. Eve Best, Sonya Mizuno and Fabien Frankel are also in the cast, while Ryan Condal and GoT vet Miguel Sapochnik serve as showrunners, and Sapochnik directs the pilot and several more episodes of the 10-part first season.
Following the cancellation of another prequel Bloodmoon, which was to be headed by Naomi Watts, House of the Dragon will be the first follow-up to Game of Thrones to hit the airwaves, with filming starting on it two years to the month since the pop culture juggernaut aired its controversial finale. The show is looking to premiere on HBO sometime in 2022.
