HBO has ordered a Game of Thrones spinoff series, House of the Dragon to start production in the coming months. The show will be a prequel to George R.R Martin’s Game of Thrones series in which the writer will co-produce the show alongside Colony producers Ryan Condal.
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HBO revealed that the project is based on Martin’s 2019 book Fire and Blood and will reveal the history of House Targaryen, the ancestors of Daenerys as they fight through a civil war. The series will be set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones.
HBO made the announcement at their HBO Max event just after the news broke that the company canned their other in-production Game of Thrones spinoff series starring Naomi Watts. The show, titled The Long Night was cancelled and will not be moving past its pilot stage which had already been shot. HBO did not give a reason as to why they cancelled the show but rumours report that the highly-criticized finale of the original show was to blame.
House of Dragon will “establish a history penned by Martin to serve as a backbone for the story” according to Entertainment Weekly. The Long Night, on the other hand, only had a few vague references to build on from the show’s history. The plan is to have the show eventually lead up to The Dance of the Dragon which is a major moment in the Seven Kingdoms history leading to an all-out civil war between the two rival factions and House Targaryen.
We don’t know when House of the Dragon is expected to air but don’t be surprised if the pilot airs before the end of 2020. A real pity that we will never get to see the completed pilot episode of The Long Night.