Fans of HBO’s House of the Dragon who were hoping for more dragons will be very happy with what showrunner Ryan Condal had to say on Tuesday.
The 43-year-old writer, who co-created the series with Game of Thrones auteur George RR Martin, revealed during an FYC screening in Los Angeles that five new dragons will be introduced in season 2.
HBO renewed House of the Dragon for a second season in August, just days after the series debuted.
Condal was joined by several cast members at the event, which was held at the Directors Guild of America on Tuesday, including Rhys Ifans (Otto Hightower), Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen), Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon), Fabien Frankel (Christon Cole), Matt Smith (Daemon Targaryen), Olivia Cooke (Alicent Hightower), Paddy Considine (King Viserys Targaryen) and Emily Carey (the young Alicent Hightower).
“You’re going to meet five new dragons,” Condal revealed during the Q&A, adding that production on season 2 will begin “very soon.”
More: Fans of HBO’s House of the Dragon who were hoping for more dragons will be very happy with what showrunner Ryan Condal had to say Tuesday
Dragon time: The 43-year-old writer, who co-created the series with Game of Thrones auteur George RR Martin, revealed during an FYC screening in Los Angeles that five new dragons will be introduced in season 2.
The event featured a screening of the eighth episode of the first season, entitled Lord of the Tides, which author Martin said was ‘one of my favourites’.
‘This guy (Condal) has an incredible team of writers. Because if you read my book Fire & Blood, which you should, it’s a false story,” Martin said, referencing the book from which House of the Dragon was adapted.
“So there are a lot of the details that are in this that are absolutely wonderful and moving that are not in the book. They added things, and they added good things, which is important,” Martin added.
Martin was also asked about the pressure on a series that is a prequel to the beloved Game of Thrones, and he joked that the pressure on him to finish his novel series is even greater.
“The pressure of trying to follow the original series is nothing compared to the pressure of trying to finish the novel. That keeps me sleepless at night. The show? That’s Ryan’s problem,’ Martin joked.
Martin has written five of his planned seven books in his A Song of Ice and Fire novel series…although the last book, A Dance With Dragons, was published almost 12 years ago, with no date for the sixth book, The Winds of Winter, or the seventh and final book, A Dream of Springs, yet to be revealed.
Paddy Considine, who played the ailing King Viserys Targaryen, opened up about his iconic walk to the Iron Throne in the eighth episode, as he fought for his life.
“He’s been bandaged and you see his emaciated body and the amount of pain he was in. It made me rethink that walk to the Throne because he’s in such a terrible state,” Considine said.
Author: The event featured a screening of the eighth episode of the first season, entitled Lord of the Tides, which author Martin said was “one of my favourites.”
Details: “So there are a lot of details that are absolutely wonderful and moving that aren’t in the book. They added things and they added good things, which is important,” Martin added.
“I thought, ‘It’s going to be a monumental walk through the Red Keep to the Throne.” So when I came to film, (I thought), “I’m really going to take my time, I’m really going to fight and make these people wait,” she said.
Olivia Cooke also cleared up a rumor that she was kept apart from the actress who played the younger version of her character, Alicent Hightower, Emily Carey, though Carey admitted: “Yeah, we didn’t talk.”
‘Good. In fact, there’s a nasty little rumor that I want to clear up that we were forcibly kept apart,” Cooke said, adding that it wasn’t true.
When asked about his favorite moments from the first season, Fabien Frankel (Ser Criston Cole) said there was a lot of humor on set.
‘To be honest, we’re a bunch of giggles. It just took like a glint in someone’s eye to make everyone angry,” Frankel said.
“So anyway, yeah, there were a lot of laughs for such a serious show,” he added.
House of the Dragon is set hundreds of years before the events of Game of Thrones, following the reign of House Targaryens.
HBO has yet to reveal when season 2 will debut, though it seems likely it won’t arrive until 2024.
King: ‘I thought, “That’s going to be a monumental walk through the Red Keep to the Throne.” So when I came to film, (I thought), “I’m really going to take my time, I’m really going to fight and make these people wait,” he said.
Rumor: ‘Right. In fact, there’s a nasty little rumor that I want to clear up that we were forcibly kept apart,” Cooke said, adding that it wasn’t true.