House of the Dragon Season 3 Reportedly Already Greenlit at HBO

Diksha Sundriyal of House of the Dragon Season 3 Reportedly Already Greenlit at HBO Diksha Sundriyal
September 28, 2023
Image Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO

The third season of HBO’s hit fantasy drama series, ‘House of the Dragon,’ has reportedly already been greenlit. The second season is already in production, and much like its predecessors, the third season will be filmed in various locations in London, Wales, and Cáceres, Spain. The second season received a green light from the network mere days after the first season premiered in August 2022.

The filming for the second season started on April 11, 2023, in London, Wales, and Spain and was unaffected by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. The scripts for the eight-episode second season were finished by the time the writer’s strike commenced on May 2, 2023. The show didn’t suffer an impact from the actors’ strike either because the actors on the show are under UK Equity contracts. Reportedly, the filming schedule was also rearranged to allow the actors, who are also SAG members, to receive a small break before the filming went back on track.

Co-created by Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik (who left the show after the first season, leaving Condal as the sole showrunner), ‘House of the Dragon’ is based on George R.R. Martin’s book ‘Fire and Blood,’ which recounts the history of House Targaryen. The prequel series takes the audience 172 years before the events of ‘Game of Thrones.’ Condal and Martin have expressed their desire to go on at least a four-season arc to conclude the current story.

Plot details are sparse on the third season, though it was confirmed that the second season has been cut from ten to eight episodes, which means that a couple of important milestones, including a major battle from the book, might be moved to the third season. The HBO series has confirmed four new cast members for Season 2. Simon Russell Beale has been cast in the role of Ser Simon Strong, the great-uncle of Lord Larys Strong. Freddie Fox has been cast in the role of Ser Gwayne Hightower, son of Otto Hightower and brother of Queen Alicent. Gayle Rankin will play Alys Rivers from Harrenhal, and Abubakar Salim will play Alyn of Hull, a sailor in the Velaryon fleet.

All the main cast members from Season 1 are confirmed to reprise their roles in Season 2. Because the second season will take the Greens and the Blacks into a bloody battle, which will reportedly feature around five new dragons, the fates of some of the characters are called into question, and some might not be around for the third season. However, actors like Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, and Fabien Frankel, among a few others, are expected to be a part of the show’s third installment.

The first season of ‘House of the Dragon’ started with the friendship between Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. It featured a time-jump mid-season where both the actresses were replaced in accordance with the older version of their characters. However, showrunner Ryan Condal has confirmed that the series will avoid time jumps in the following seasons. The second season will “pick up where we left off” and will also be in “more traditional rhythms of storytelling and Game of Thrones.”

Considering that the civil war, titled Dance of the Dragons, unfolded over around three years, the second and third seasons will take it slower, compared to the first, focusing on the battles and the bloodshed between the two houses. More plot, cast, and production details about the third season are expected to be revealed over the coming months.

Read More: What Will Happen to Rhaenyra and Alicent’s Kids in House of the Dragon?

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