Game of Thrones Author Teases House of the Dragon Release Date

A Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin teased the release date for House of the Dragon would be announced soon.

“Many of you reading this are fantasy fans, I know. Waiting for WINDS OF WINTER, I know, I know…” he wrote on his blog, referencing the 10+ year wait fans have been enduring for his next book in the Song of Fire and Ice series. (The latest book in the series, A Dance with Dragons, came out in 2011.) “But looking forward to the new TV shows as well. RINGS OF POWER on September 2, and HOUSE OF THE DRAGON on… well, you will know soon.”

A spinoff of HBO’s Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon takes place 200 years before the events of the main series and chronicles the beginning of the downfall of House Targaryen, including the civil war known as the “Dance of the Dragons.” It stars Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Rhys Ifans and Paddy Considine, among others.

While the series was ordered in October 2019 and began filming in April 2021, HBO and HBO Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys said that the team is being cautious in announcing a release date due to the uncertainties of COVID-19. “One of the reasons why we’re trying to be cautious about it is when you’re shooting a show that big during a pandemic, especially with the last round [with] a lot of crew and cast members… you didn’t know who was going to drop out or if we’re going to have to shut down so we just didn’t want to declare a date and then find ourselves shut down,” he said. “Now that we are out of production, I think that we will talk to their guys and figure out what we want to do in terms of announcing a date. But I was just trying to make sure that we didn’t come out with a date that we couldn’t meet for something that was out of our control.”

While House of the Dragon is currently the only active Game of Thrones spinoff in development at HBO, Martin did say that Bruno Heller, the former showrunner of the short-lived Rome, is writing a pilot script for The Sea Snake, a series focused on the sea captain Corlys Velaryon. Corlys will make his debut in House of the Dragon as an older man and will be portrayed by Steve Toussaint.

An ally to House Targaryen, members of House Velaryon are also born with the silver hair and purple eyes that are usually associated with the Targaryens. They are one of the few Valyrian families in Westeros and are capable of riding dragons, a rare feat in Westeros.