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Winter is coming…again.

| By Bed Threads | Entertainment

'House of the Dragon': Everything You Need to Know about the 'Game of Thrones' Prequel

Winter is coming…again.

Have you heard the good news? Game of Thrones will be back on our screens – and very soon, too. The first of the many commissioned prequels (and sequels) to the biggest television show in history has been announced; it’s called House of the Dragon, and it will focus on the history of the Targaryen family, as in the ancestors of Daenerys herself.

House of the Dragon will drop onto streaming in August, and from the exact release date to where you can watch it in Australia, we have all the details.

What is House of the Dragon about?

House of the Dragon is a prequel to the Game of Thrones story that we already know and love. This particular television show will focus specifically on the early days of the House Targaryen, which is the same family that Daenerys, mother of Dragons herself, played by Emilia Clarke in the original series, springs from.

But House of the Dragon is going to look several generations in the past to set its scene, some 200 years. In part, the series is going to focus on the death of King Viserys Targaryen and his children and potential successors: daughter Rhaenyra and son Aegon Targaryen (It’s all sounding a bit Succession, isn’t it?). There was a bloody civil war that broke out to decide who would ultimately take the throne. So there’s going to be a big battle to satisfy all the fans of Game of Thrones’ fight sequences, as well as plenty of courtly intrigue, for those whose favourite Westerosian was the dastardly Littlefinger. Sign us up.

Will there be more Game of Thrones prequels?

Yes, there will. House of the Dragon is just one of several prequels, spinoffs and sequels that HBO – the studio that makes Games of Thrones – is considering making. They even got pretty far down the track on making another prequel, filming the first episode of a series that was going to star Naomi Watts, before they cancelled it. Instead, they are focusing on House of the Dragon for now, and we can’t say we blame them. Giving us more Targaryen backstory sounds like a pretty good idea as our first spinoff out of the gate.

Who will star in House of the Dragon?

Get ready. This cast is epic. Australian Milly Alcock – star of The Gloaming and Upright – will star as a younger version of Princess Rhaenyra, who is the lead of the show. The cherished daughter of King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine), whose death kicks off the war of succession that will culminate in a bloody civil war.

Her uncle, Prince Daemon, known as a gifted warrior and close ally to his niece in the civil war, will be played by Matt Smith. You will definitely recognise him: you’ve seen him before as another Prince – Prince Philip in seasons one and two of The Crown. Daemon believes that he might be the heir to the throne after the death of his brother Viserys, but instead Viserys chooses his daughter Rhaenyra to assume the crown. As such, Daemon decides to get closer and closer to his niece – eventually marrying her, as is the Targaryen way. Playing Rhaenyra as an older woman will be Emma D’Arcy, a rising star English actor previously starred in Mothering Sunday with Olivia Colman and Colin Firth.

But it’s not all about the Targaryens in this sequel. Another high-powered family of the court is the Hightowers, and presiding over this dynasty is patriarch Otto Hightower, played by Rhys Ifans. You’ll remember him from Notting Hill, where he played Hugh Grant’s underwear-sporting flatmate Spike. Otto is not only a powerful figure in the court from a high-ranking family, but he’s also Hand of the King. His daughter Alicent Hightower ends up becoming the second wife to King Viserys, and it is her son Aegon who attempts to challenge the throne. Alicent will be played by Olivia Cooke, who has starred in everything from indie dramas (Me, Earl and the Dying Girl) to sci-fi epics (Ready Player One) and spy series Slow Horses, streaming now on AppleTV+.

But wait, there’s more. Sonoya Mizuno, of Crazy Rich Asians fame, is playing a young woman named Mysaria, who is said to have come to Westeros with nothing but has risen through the ranks, courtesy of her ambition and deadly acumen until she became a trusted advisor to Prince Daemon. Also in the cast is Australian Ryan Corr, playing Ser Harwin Strong, Outlander’s Graham McTavish as Ser Harrold Westerling and Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon.

Is House of the Dragon based on a book?

Sort of. The original Game of Thrones author George RR Martin wrote a 700-page book in 2018 called Fire & Blood, which is going to form part of the inspiration for this series. Given the size and length of this book, there’s quite a lot of Targaryen family history to get through, and it’s clear that House of the Dragon is only going to skim the surface of Targaryen ancestry. If this show is a success, then we bet there’ll be more seasons – and more Targaryens – to make it to the small screen.

Is there a trailer for House of the Dragon?

Yes! You can watch the first teaser on the right.

Who is the creative team behind House of the Dragon?

Miguel Sapochnik, who was one of the directors on the original Game of Thrones series, will serve as showrunner of House of the Dragon. Sapochnik is best known for directing the epic ‘Battle of the Bastards’ episode, which means you can rest assured that battle sequences and civil war will be faithfully recreated in his hands. Martin and Ryan Condol are co-creators of the show, along with George RR Martin. The show will be scored by Ramin Djawadi, who did the original music on Game of Thrones. They’re getting the band back together – literally.

When can I watch House of the Dragon?

August 22 on Foxtel and Binge. The episodes are coming direct from the US, which means you can stream them at lunchtime the second that the episodes drop, in order to stay on top of all the water cooler chat, or you can watch it as soon as you get home in the evening – and steer clear of Twitter and Facebook before then. Our watch is just beginning, everybody! We can’t wait.

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