SNAPSHOT
Adapted from Martin’s Targaryen history book Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. The show will focus on an infamous event in Westeros history known as the Dance of the Dragons. This is a civil war that took place between siblings Aegon II and Rhaenyra over the throne after the death of their father Viserys I. The war pit all of Westeros against itself, with other houses such as the Starks and Lannisters joining either side. Many of House Targaryen’s powerful dragons perished—and soon afterward would go extinct until Daenerys Targaryen would hatch three eggs hundreds of years later. (synopsis courtesy Esquire)
It’s a tough ask following up Game of Thrones, one of the biggest watercooler hits of recent times – unlike most modern TV/streaming shows which often go and stay happily niche, GoT went big and stayed big, crossing all kinds of demographic boundaries – but the producers of HBO’s likely next big fantasy epic, House of Dragons are clearly hoping they won’t be one of those sequels that gravely disappoints.
Judging by the trailer, which promises epic talk of legacies, blood and iron-clad rules, that’s highly unlikely and in another sign that House of Dragons will deliver on its resplendent promise, the author of the Games of Thrones books himself, George R.R. Martin, had this to say about the show:
“It’s dark, it’s powerful, it’s visceral… just the way I like my epic fantasy,” Martin wrote last December. “Ryan [Condal] and Miguel [Sapochnik] have done an amazing job, and the cast… just as with Game of Thrones, most viewers will only have heard of a few of the actors, but I think you are going to fall in love with a lot of them. (Only to have your heart broken later when… but no, that would be telling). I think the Targaryens are in very good hands.” (courtesy & (c) Esquire)
Rather wisely, Condal and Sapochnik have decided not to try for an exact copy of GoT, saying:
“This is something else, and should be something else. It’s a different crew, different people, different tone. Hopefully it will be seen as something else. But it will have to earn that — it won’t happen overnight. Hopefully fans will enjoy it for the thing that it is. We’ll be lucky if we ever come close to what the original show was, so we’re just putting our heads down and getting on with it and hoping what we come up with is worthy of having a Game of Thrones title.” (courtesy & (c) Esquire)
So, rather promisingly an all-new show that harkens back in some ways to the old, which is really the best approach for anyone seeking to be part of an existing – provide enough touchstones for fans to feel like they are somewhere familiar but push the boundaries enough that it feels beguilingly different too.
It’s all very exciting, looking like it will very much be worth the watch come 21 August this year when it premieres on HBO and HBOMax.
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