Everything we’ve heard so far about the second season of Game Of Thrones spin-off House Of The Dragon has suggested that it’ll be bigger, bolder and more scaly than first time around. More dragons! More battles! More leprosy!
But it’ll come in a very slightly smaller package. The second season will be eight episodes long, two episodes shorter than the first season. Don’t be alarmed, though: HBO insists that it isn’t preparing to dragon-flame its first GoT offshoot to ashes. According to Deadline, the change is “story-driven,” and there’s a third season very much in the works. It’s been mapped out by showrunner Ryan Condal and George RR Martin, though it’s yet to be officially given the king’s seal.
This is a bit of a change of plan. Back in October, Martin wrote on his blog that it was “going to take four full seasons of 10 episodes each to do justice to the Dance Of The Dragons, from start to finish”. However, Condal and Martin are reportedly still working out whether the shape of the story ought to fit into three or four seasons. Production is kicking off over here in the UK very soon, and there’s a tentative release date of summer 2024.