Game Of Thrones Prequel House Of The Dragon - What We Know So Far

Much like winter, a Game of Thrones prequel is coming.

After the flagship HBO series — which captured the collective imagination across the world during its eight-season, nearly-ten-year run from 2011 to 2019 — came to an end, fans have wondered if more Game of Thrones content is forthcoming. Luckily, a prequel series is on its way, and will give enthusiasts a deeper look at the dramatic events that led to the political intrigue and massive battles during Game of Thrones' original narrative. 

In October 2019, HBO officially confirmed a ten-episode order for the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, and as the show takes shape, the network has revealed more details here and there. While HBO hasn't broken the metaphorical wall to let all the specifics come flooding in, meaning there isn't a ton of concrete information about House of the Dragon out there, things have begun heating up for the Thrones prequel on its road to the small screen.

From who could star on the series to when the show might premiere to what it will be about, here's what we know so far about House of the Dragon. We'll update this list as more information becomes available.

There's no official release date for House of the Dragon just yet, but as of summer 2020, production has yet to begin due to the coronavirus crisis, which has shuttered production on most film and television sets throughout the world. 

However, if we go by previous Game of Thrones premiere dates, it feels like a pretty sure bet that House of the Dragon will have a spring or summer debut, just as its predecessor typically did. In fact, every original season of Game of Thrones premiered in either March or April throughout the show's run — with season 7, which premiered in July 2017, as the only exception. It's possible that HBO may not end up following this pattern for House of the Dragon, but it would make sense to mark the first days of spring with a new Game of Thrones show, exactly as the network did with fresh seasons of the epic fantasy drama. 

As for how exactly how long we'll have to wait to see House of the Dragon, HBO programming president Casey Bloys said back in 2019 that he hoped to "see it on the air in [2022]."

No official casting announcements have been made just yet for House of the Dragon, but as of late July 2020, there was one exciting development. As pre-production officially gets started on House of the Dragon, sources confirmed to Insider that the casting process has begun. Per fan site Redanian Intelligence, which gathered intel from leaks and other sources, HBO is seeking out actresses to play House of the Dragon's two reported female leads: Rhaenyra Targaryen, a princess and the half-sister of Aegon II Targaryen, and Alicent Hightower, Rhaenyra's stepmother and Aegon II's mother.

There hasn't been any details on which actress will play Rhaenyra and Alicent, but if the House of the Dragon creative team (namely showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik) wants to follow in Game of Thrones' footsteps, it will probably populate the show with a mix of young fledgling actors and established British thespians. While actors like Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), and Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) got their start on Thrones, the show also wisely featured big names like Sean Bean (Ned Stark), Aiden Gillen (Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish), Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister), Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) and recurring actors like Diana Rigg (Olenna Tyrell) and Jim Broadbent (Archmaester Ebrose) – all of whom were well known before Thrones began.

One of the earliest details released about House of the Dragon concerns its plot; as you can probably tell by the name, the prequel series will focus on the Targaryen family, which viewers remember thanks to the young queen Daenerys Targaryen on the original series. However, as Dany and other characters frequently mentioned throughout Game of Thrones, the Targaryen family has a rich and complex history, which House of the Dragon seems primed to explore.

House of the Dragon is based on a different book by author George R.R. Martin — whose unfinished epic A Song of Ice and Fire served as the source material for Game of Thrones — called Fire & Blood, which is structured like a history book about the Targaryens. According to a press release obtained by Insider, House of the Dragon will take place 300 years before the start of the events of Game of Thrones. The show may well kick off the same way Fire & Blood book does: detailing Aegon I's conquest of Westeros.