Although we had to go through the entirety of 2023 without a trip to Westeros, HBO has finally relented and given us a concrete idea of when we can expect Season 2 of House of the Dragon. During an interview at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom conference on Monday, J.B. Perrette, who oversees streaming and gaming at Warner Bros. Discovery, disclosed the launch month for Season 2 of the Game of Thrones spinoff, which will now premiere in June. Although the exact date for the premiere of House of the Dragon Season 2 wasn’t specified, this announcement provides the clearest indication yet of the release time frame, following HBO chief Casey Bloys‘ hint at an early summer premiere back in November.
Originating from George R.R. Martin‘s book Fire and Blood within the Game of Thrones universe, House of the Dragon explores the Targaryen dynasty on the fictional continent of Westeros. The series unfolds almost two centuries before the events in Game of Thrones and roughly 100 years after the Targaryens first took control of the Iron Throne and the Seven Kingdoms upon which it was built, before elaborating on the fall of the empire built by the dragon-riding clan.
The fact that the series is even making it to air this year could have surprised many — except for the fact that it continued production through both Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Production for the second season of HOTD kicked off at Warner Bros.’ Leavesden Studios on April 11. The production process was not impacted by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike from May 2 to September 27, nor by the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike that began on July 14. This uninterrupted progress was possible because all scripts had been completed prior to the start of filming, ensuring no writers were engaged with HOTD during the strikes. Ryan Condal, the series’ showrunner, remained on set solely in a production role. Furthermore, the cast was contracted through the UK’s Equity Guild, not SAG-AFTRA, throughout the filming period.
Who Is in ‘House of the Dragon’?
In the second season of the Thrones prequel, the cast features returning stars including Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans. Also reprising their roles are Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, and Matthew Needham. Climbing aboard for the second season, we have newly-announced actors including Gayle Rankin in the role of Alys Rivers, Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong, Freddie Fox portraying Ser Gwayne Hightower, and Abubakar Salim playing Alyn of Hull.
Season 1 of House of the Dragon is streaming on Max.
via Collider