After performing extraordinarily well with both Game of Thrones loyalists and new viewers, HBO’s House of the Dragon comes back for a second season, regaining the respect its predecessor lost with its dubious last season.
The prequel series, which is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood, depicts life in House Targaryen 172 years before Daenerys Targaryen was born and the Mad King passed away. The Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war was the subject of Season 1’s main storyline.
You might be asking when to expect Season 2 of House of the Dragon given that each episode averages 29 million viewers and the series receives great accolades from critics and at-home viewers alike. To answer that question, here is all the information we are aware of, including the season’s release date, trailer, cast, and plot.
House of the Dragon Season 2 Release Date
The second season of House of the Dragon will air “late spring/early summer of 2024.” HBO Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys remarked in an interview with Vulture towards the end of 2022: “We’re just starting to put the plan together, and just like last time, there are so many unknowns. It’s not to be coy or secretive, but you don’t want to say it’s going to be ready on this date, and then you have to move it… don’t expect it in 2023.”
The second season’s production began in August 2022, which is wonderful news. Production began on March 6, 2023, in the UK and Spain, according to the Film & Television Industry Alliance’s Production List, which was published more recently.
And now, with HBO issuing a statement about the start of filming on April 11, we can officially confirm that the show has started shooting for season 2. The 2023 Writers Guild strike, however, has since begun, and many high-profile productions have suspended work as a result. House of the Dragon is not, however, one of those affected.
George R. R. Martin confirmed that filming for the second season is still going ahead as scheduled in a blog post on May 8. “The second season started filming April 11 and will continue in London and Wales. The scripts for the eight episodes were finished months ago, long before the strike began. Every episode has gone through four or five drafts and numerous rounds of revisions to address HBO notes, my notes, budget concerns, etc.” Martin said so.
“The writers have done their jobs; the rest is in the hands of the directors, cast, and crew, and of course, the dragons.” Therefore, it appears that the strike will not affect the anticipated 2024 release of House of the Dragon Season 2.
The SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike won’t have an impact on the series either. Variety reports that because it stars British performers who are employed by Equity, a different union from SAG-AFTRA, filming can proceed in the U.K. Equity actors are unable to strike in support of SAG-AFTRA due to British labor regulations.
George R.R. Martin, the creator of the franchise, announced on his blog that House of the Dragon is still in production: “One of the few shows till shooting is HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, as you may have read. That’s true. I am told the second season is half done,” he said.
“HOT D is shot mostly in London (and a little bit in Wales, Spain, and various other locations), which is why filming has continued. The actors are members of the British union, Equity, not SAG-AFTRA, and though Equity strongly supports their American cousins (they have a big rally planned to show that support), British law forbids them from staging a sympathy strike. If they walk, they have no protection against being fired for breach of contract, or even sued. As for me personally, my overall deal with HBO was suspended on June 1. I still have plenty to do, of course. In that, I am one of the lucky ones.”
House of the Dragon Season 2 Cast
The following actors from Season 1 of House of the Dragon can be seen in Season 2:
- Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen
- Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen
- Olivia Cooke as Lady Alicent Hightower
- Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower
- Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen
- Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon II Targaryen
- Phia Saban as Helaena Targaryen
- Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon
- Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen
- Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole
- Graham McTavish as Ser Harrold Westerling
Despite being fan favorites, the timeline prevents Milly Alcock and Emily Carey from playing the younger iterations of Lady Alicent Hightower and Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, respectively.
Carey claimed there had been “conversations” on the possibility of flashbacks, but Ryan Condal, the show’s creator, stated to Variety: “I mean, look, I don’t know. [They] are not a part of the story that we’re telling yet. That’s not a thing that we’re doing right now.” In spite of this, he’s leaving his options open, so they might eventually make a comeback.
Take a look at some additional recently published content from us:
- Money Heist Berlin Spin-off Series Release Date: Why Was He Killed in Part 2 and Why Did He Return?
- The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 Release Date, Cast, Plot and More!
Due to his passing in Episode 9, Paddy Considine won’t reprise his role as King Viserys I. Beyond that, Season 2 will also bring about a few new developments. For the upcoming episodes, four new actors have been cast, as was announced for the first time by Entertainment Weekly on April 24. These are what they are:
- Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong
- Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayn Hightower
- Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers
- Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull
- Amanda Collin as Jeyne Arryn
House of the Dragon Season 2 Trailer
At the time of writing, there isn’t a trailer for House of the Dragon Season 2, but one might appear later in the year. Early in April 2023, the official Twitter account of the series tweeted a photo of the Iron Throne along with the statement, “It’s time to return to King’s Landing. Season 2 of #HouseoftheDragon is now in production.”
It’s time to return to King’s Landing.
Season 2 of #HouseoftheDragon is now in production. pic.twitter.com/lGSQSq6oK9
— House of the Dragon (@HouseofDragon) April 11, 2023
The WGA writer’s strike that is currently in effect led some HoTD fans to believe that the program might cease production, but it was revealed that the Season 2 scripts had already been completed for “some time.”
Further explaining that “there will be no further revisions” to any of the screenplays, George R.R. Martin said that each episode in Season 2 had “gone through four or five drafts and numerous rounds of revisions, to address HBO notes, my notes, budget concerns, etc.”
Fans can get excited about watching a trailer by the end of the year because House of the Dragon is scheduled to make its debut the following year and will continue filming without interruption.
House of the Dragon Season 2 Plot
We may anticipate a story of conflict to play out in the upcoming season of House of the Dragon, even though no official plot information has been released as of the time of writing.
House of the Dragon focuses on the Targaryens, as opposed to Game of Thrones, which was more concerned with the return of the White Walkers and the vast struggle for the Iron Throne.
Ser Harrold Westerling’s on-screen actor Graham McTavish hinted to possible Season 2 events in November. In his words to Metro, “I think the way that it’s going, is it’s leading to civil war.” “Civil war is that great thing that countries indulge in when they haven’t got anybody else to go and fight, they seem to just like fighting amongst themselves just to keep their hand in, and this is no different. They’ve had peace for a long, long time, and suddenly they are quite literally destroying the kingdom from within and that’s what makes it so interesting, so I would expect more of that – more division, more taking sides.”
Condal advised viewers not to anticipate any significant time jumps in his interview with Variety, adding that once Season 1 had concluded, “the storytelling becomes fairly in the rhythms of the original ‘Game of Thrones’ series.”
