Game Of Thrones prequel House Of The Dragon is headed our way next month, and will be bringing its scaly, family infighting wares to Comic-Con this weekend. Ahead of the genre news-stuffed next few days, though, the Dragon team is looking to generate some extra buzz with a new trailer.
Based on Thrones overlord George RR Martin's 2018 novel Fire And Blood the show was sparked by Martin and Colony's Ryan Condal. House Of The Dragon is set roughly two hundred years before the main GOT events and follows the story of, as you might guess, House Targaryen. Paddy Considine will be King Viserys I, who chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King, Jaehaerys Targaryen, at the Great Council at Harrenhal. A warm, kind, and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather’s legacy. But good men do not necessarily make for great kings…
Olivia Cooke plays Alicent Hightower, the daughter of Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, and the most attractive woman in the Seven Kingdoms. She was raised in the Red Keep, close to the king and his innermost circle; she possesses both a courtly grace and a keen political acumen. She's best friends with the king's daughter, (Emma D'Arcy) Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, a talented dragonrider who has her own desire for power – and when Alicent marries the King, things become awkward.
Rhys Ifans, meanwhile, is Otto Hightower. The Hand of the King, Ser Otto loyally and faithfully serves both his king and his realm. As the Hand sees it, the greatest threat to the realm is the king’s brother, Daemon (Matt Smith), and his position as heir to the throne. Finally, we have Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, known as the Sea Snake, who becomes Hand to Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen during the Dance of the Dragons.
The Thrones boss seems happy with the result. "It’s powerful, it’s visceral, it’s dark, it’s like a Shakespearean tragedy," Martin says in a new piece on the show in The Hollywood Reporter. "There’s no Arya — a character everybody’s going to love. They’re all flawed. They’re all human. They do good things. They do bad things. They’re driven by lust for power, jealousy, old wounds — just like human beings. Just like I wrote them."
Thrones veteran shot-caller Miguel Sapochnik kicked the series off, with Clare Kilner, Geeta V. Patel and Greg Yaitanes joining as fellow directors. The 10-episode initial season will air in the UK on Monday 22 August on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW.