Spoilers for House of the Dragon below.
House of the Dragon has been renewed for a second season on HBO, which comes as no surprise following the show’s record-breaking premiere on Aug. 21.
Given its predecessor, Game of Thrones, dominated TV for eight seasons, this could be the beginning of another years-long reign for the fantasy franchise based on George R. R. Martin’s books. (The author is also an executive producer on the series while Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik are co-showrunners.)
“We are beyond proud of what the entire House of the Dragon team has accomplished with season one,” Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO programming, said in a statement. “Our phenomenal cast and crew undertook a massive challenge and exceeded all expectations, delivering a show that has already established itself as must-see-TV. A huge thank you to George, Ryan, and Miguel for leading us on this journey. We couldn’t be more excited to continue bringing to life the epic saga of House Targaryen with season two.”
While the premise for the next season remains unconfirmed, we can expect a dive deeper into the history of House Targaryen, and the civil war called the Dance of Dragons, just like the show’s source material, Martin’s Fire & Blood.
When does House of the Dragon season 2 come out?
It’s far too early to say, with Dragon season 1 still airing and production plans for season 2 still under wraps. However, fans noticed that the Spanish newspaper Hoy reported HBO plans to return to the town of Cáceres, Spain to film King’s Landing scenes for season 2 from March to June 2023. Using season 1’s timeline as a reference (filming reportedly began in April 2021 and it premiered in August 2022), we’ll probably have to wait until 2024 at least for the next season. But let’s see what HBO says.
Who would be in the cast?
The official season 2 cast hasn’t been announced yet, but here’s our best guess on who’s coming back: Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen, Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Eve Best as Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon Targaryen, Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen, Phia Saban as Helaena Targaryen, Harry Collett as Jacaerys Velaryon, Bethany Antonia as Baela Targaryen, Phoebe Campbell as Rhaena Targaryen, Graham McTavish as Ser Harrold Westerling, Matthew Needham as Larys Strong, and Jefferson Hall as Tyland and Jason Lannister.
Some characters’ chances of returning are up in the air, like Laenor Velaryon (John Macmillan), who’s still alive, but faked his death and exiled himself from Westeros. Could he return in the second season to shake things up? Or will we have to wait longer (a la Gendry) for his grand comeback?
Also at this point in the series, it’s unclear if Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) will survive and make it into season 2. But her work might not be done yet.
Unfortunately, we said goodbye to Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as young Rhaenyra and Alicent after the time jump mid-season. Despite hopes that they could show up in flashback scenes in season 2, showrunner Ryan Condal says the young duo probably won’t return. “[They] are not a part of the story that we’re telling, yet,” he told Variety. “That’s not a thing that we’re doing right now.”
Paddy Considine sadly took his final bow as Viserys in episode 8, so he won’t return either. And (a season 1 finale spoiler!) Rhaenyra’s son Lucerys dies at the end of the season, so Elliot Grihault also likely won’t come back.
Who will run the series?
Miguel Sapochnik, Dragon co-showrunner and former Game of Thrones director, stepped away from the series in August. Co-creator Ryan Condal will continue showrunning while Alan Taylor, a Thrones veteran, will join as an executive producer and will direct multiple episodes next season, per The Hollywood Reporter.
What will season 2 be about?
Given the series tells the story of the Dance of the Dragons, we can expect to see more events from the Targaryen civil war hit the screen. Season 1 ended with a tragic death for Queen Rhaenyra, so the next chapter will likely show the aftermath and how she reacts to the loss. While most of the first season revolved around the events leading up to the civil war, the second season would likely show more of the conflict in full swing. Those who’ve read Fire & Blood know what comes next, but I won’t spoil it all here.
Condal told The Sunday Times that the next season will have a faster pace. “Series 2 will hit the rhythms people came to expect from the middle run of ‘Game of Thrones,’ but it will have been earned, and viewers will feel the tragedies because we put the work in,” he said per IndieWire.
He also teased that they plan to include “natural pathways into moments of levity,” in other words, more humor. Though that may be difficult without Peter Dinklage playing Tyrion Lannister in Dragon, but Matt Smith might help fill that gap. “I think Matt Smith is very funny,” Condal added. “If there is one character that does not care, it is Daemon.”
How many seasons will House of the Dragon have?
George R. R. Martin has a number in mind. “It is going to take four full seasons of 10 episodes each to do justice to the Dance of the Dragons, from start to finish,” he wrote in a post on his website. However, HBO has yet to confirm plans of a four-season arc. The series could even go on for longer, considering Game of Thrones went on for eight seasons, with the last two departing from Martin’s books.
This story will be updated.
Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There is a 75 percent chance she’s listening to Lorde right now.