Later this year, we’ll be venturing back to Westeros in Game Of Thrones prequel spin-off House Of The Dragon – a show exploring the flame-scorched history of the Targaryen family, set hundreds of years before the war for the Iron Throne. And while the final season of the main show proved divisive, the upcoming new series is already getting some early hype from a very particular source: George RR Martin, the A Song Of Ice And Fire author who created this whole universe.
Now, Martin praising a show that is connected to his works (it’s based on his Targaryen family history book, Fire & Blood, and he’s credited as a co-creator on the series) might seem obvious. But since he previously spoke about how the final run of Thrones was “not completely faithful” to his vision for the story (he’s still writing the book series’ next novel, The Winds Of Winter), the fact that he’s so enthusiastic about House Of The Dragon is a good sign. “I have seen rough cuts of a few of them, and I’m loving them,” he wrote on his blog, in a post confirming the ten-episode season has now wrapped shooting. “Of course, a lot more work needs to be done. Special effects, color timing, score, all the post production work. But the writing, the directing, the acting all look terrific. I hope you will like them as much as I do. My hat is off to Ryan [J. Condal] and Miguel [Sapochnik, showrunners] and their team, and to our amazing cast.”
Martin wrote that it’s still unclear when the series will debut, hinting that it may be sometime in the summer or autumn. It stars the likes of Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans, Emma D’Arcy, and Graham McTavish among its sprawling cast – many of whom will be sporting the Targaryens’ signature platinum blonde hair. Bring on the dragons.