This dance (of the dragons) card is starting to fill up. Ready Player One’s Olivia Cooke, Doctor Who’s Matt Smith, and Truth Seekers’ Emma D’Arcy have signed onto HBO’s next journey into Westeros: House of the Dragon. It’s about the fall of Targaryen empire, which led to the rise of the Mother of Dragons.
According to a press release, Smith, Cooke, and D’Arcy will play three of the most significant characters in the Targaryen civil war, as described in George R.R. Martin’s novel Fire & Blood. D’Arcy is taking on the role of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the first-born daughter of King Viserys (Paddy Considine) who is ultimately chosen as his successor to the throne. Joining her will be Smith as Daemon Targaryen, Rhaenyra’s uncle…as well as her husband, because that’s just how the Targaryens rolled apparently.
Together, the familial couple is ready to rule the Seven Kingdoms — until a complication arises in the form of Alicent Hightower (Cooke), the beautiful and savvy daughter of the Hand of the King. She winds up carrying something (or should we say someone) powerful, which will change the Targaryen family and Westeros itself forever. You can read all about the detailed saga here, unless you’re trying to avoid spoilers of course.
House of the Dragon was created by Martin and Ryan Condal (Colony), and is being helmed by Condal and Game of Thrones director Miguel Sapochnik. As of now, it’s the only Game of Thrones spinoff moving forward at HBO — with the previous prequel, tentatively titled The Long Night, not getting approved past a pilot stage. House of the Dragon, on the other hand, has already been picked up to series and is set to come out sometime in 2022.