'House of the Dragon' renewed for a third season
HBO has greenlit a third season of House of the Dragon days ahead of the premiere of season 2 on June 16.
ICYDK, House of the Dragon is a prequel series taking place about 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones. The series is based on franchise creator George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood book.
"George, Ryan [Condal], and the rest of our incredible executive producers, cast, and crew, have reached new heights with the phenomenal second season," HBO programming and drama series chief Francesca Orsi said.
"We are in awe of the dragon-sized effort the entire team has put into the creation of a spectacular season two, with a scope and scale that is only rivaled by its heart. We could not be more thrilled to continue the story of House Targaryen and watch this team burn bright again for season three."
The first season of the show saw the muddled succession of Viserys I (Paddy Considine) as he named his then-only daughter Rhaenyra (Emma D'arcy) his rightful heir to the throne. But when the king remarries and bears a son, some believe the boy should be next in line.
Meanwhile, the second season will pick up after the death of Viserys after his wife and queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) crowns her their son Aegon II despite the king believing it was the late king's wishes. This starts a dispute between Rhaenyra and Aegon's factions about who the rightful ruler of Westeros should be. Things get more messy as, at the end of season 1, Aegon's brother Aemond kills Rhaenyra's son Lucerys.
The second season of House of the Dragon stars Matt Smith, Emma D'arcy, Olivia Cooke, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Matthew Needham, Sonoya Mizuno, Tom Glynn-Carney, Ewan Mitchell, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, and Jefferson Hall.
Apart from the Emmy-nominated series, HBO is also working on other Game of Thrones prequels including Knight of the Seven Kingdoms based on the story of Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg.