George R.R. Martin took to his personal blog to announce that the prequel series “House of the Dragon” has completed filming its first season, and the author had nothing but praise for the episodes he has seen. “I have seen rough cuts of a few of them, and I’m loving them,” Martin wrote. “Of course, a lot more work needs to be done. Special effects, color timing, score, all the post-production work. But the writing, the directing, the acting all look terrific. I hope you will like them as much as I do. My hat is off to [showrunners] Ryan [J. Condal] and Miguel [Sapochnik] and their team, and to our amazing cast.” “House of the Dragon” is set 300 years prior to the events of “Game of Thrones,” telling the story of a civil war that occurred in the House of Targaryen. Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint, Paddy Considine, Sonoya Mizuno and Rhys Ifans star in the show, which hails from showrunners Condal and Sapochnik.
In true George R.R. Martin fashion, the deadline-loathing author was noncommittal about when “House of the Dragon,” might premiere, saying “I wish I could tell you. Lots of work remains to be done, as I said, and covid makes planning difficult. This spring? Unlikely. Maybe summer? Could be. Fall? Who knows?” However, he left things on a positive note, telling fans “you’ll know when we do.” “House of the Dragon” is just one of the multitude of “Game of Thrones” spinoffs that HBO has in the works. The premium cable outlet is also developing prequels “Tales of Dunk and Egg” and “10,000 Ships,” along with a “House of the Dragon” spinoff titled “9 Voyages,” which would follow Steve Toussaint’s character from the upcoming series. There are also three animated “Game of Thrones” projects in development, including one based on The Golden Empire of Yi Ti that is inspired by ancient China. HBO previously shot a pilot for an untitled “Game of Thrones” spinoff starring Naomi Watts that was ultimately not picked up to series. “House of Dragons” is expected to air on HBO sometime in 2022. During this week’s TCAs, HBO content chief Casey Bloys confirmed we can expect the series this year. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
