House Of The Dragon Season 2: All We Know About The Game Of Thrones Prequel

House of the Dragon has exploded into one of the most popular shows currently, and now we can report that Elizabeth Olsen is being targeted for Season 2 of the series.

By James Brizuela | Published 5 months ago

House of the Dragon debuted on HBO in August of 2022 and immediately became a massive hit. The first season is over but House of the Dragon Season 2 is already on the way. This is what you need to know.

House Of The Dragon Season 2 Was Greenlit Before Season 1 Finished

Game of Thrones fans might have been skeptical after the way the first George R.R. Martin inspired finished, but House of the Dragon immediately wiped those fears away and earned a huge audience. Critics were receptive too.

Our reviewer said of the Season 1 finale that it contained, “one of the single best action sequences of the entire franchise.”

The first episode of the show immediately earned 10 million viewers. In context, those numbers make House of the Dragon the most-watched show in HBO history. So it’s no surprise at all that HBO greenlit House of the Dragon Season 2 in the first week of the show’s run on their pay-to-view network.

House Of The Dragon Season 2 Will Debut In 2024

Unfortunately for fans of House of the Dragon, the wait for a Season 2 might be a long one. HBO hasn’t even offered a guess when the second season will premiere, so we are going to have to do a little bit of math to get in the ballpark. Wish us luck.

The filming for the first season of House of the Dragon began back in April 2021 with the series premiering 15 months later. So, if the second season starts filming in early 2023 (it is rumored to start filming in March or April), then we are looking at a spring 2024 Season 2 premiere date. This means the entire 2023 will be without dragons.

Of course, this is also assuming that production on the second season will actually start in early 2023. Turnaround, regardless, looks to be a year to a year and a half, so there is even a good possibility that fans won’t see Season 2 of House of the Dragons until the summer of 2024. Yikes. Hopefully, it is worth the wait.

We’re Likely Getting At Least Four Seasons

Thanks to that monster start, House of the Dragon isn’t just headed for Season 2. That’s all its parent television network has authorized, so far.

Season 1 had 10 episodes. Expect the same for House of the Dragon Season 2.

Though the show is only officially lined up for one more season, creator George R.R. Martin had this to say about its future on his website …

“It is going to take four full seasons of 10 episodes each to do justice to the Dance of the Dragons, from start to finish.”

So, we know Martin is planning for House of the Dragon‘s second season to lead into future storytelling. Whether that will happen remains to be seen. If the audience numbers from Season 1 hold, it’s hard to imagine HBO not giving House of the Dragon four seasons and likely even more.

House Of The Dragon’s Cast For Season 2

A lot of people died in season one creating a lot of confusion around who’s actually in this show in the first place. Expand below to see the full, confirmed returning cast for House of the Dragon season 2…

We don’t know everything about who may show up in Season 2 yet, but here’s a look at some of the new additions we’ve heard may be coming in House of the Dragon season 2…

What Happened In House Of The Dragon Season 1?

The first season of HBO’s hit Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon takes place over years, starting under the rule of King Viserys I (Paddy Considine), who is the uncontested ruler of Westeros and the head of the powerful House Targaryen. This is about 170 years before the events we saw go down on Game of Thrones.

After Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke) dies in childbirth and their infant son passes away shortly thereafter, Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock and Emma D’Arcy) is appointed heir to the throne, much to the displeasure of Prince Daemon (Matt Smith).

Over time, the Hand of the King, Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) plots to marry his daughter Alicent (Emily Carey and Olivia Cooke) to the king and arrange for their child to supplant Rhaenyra as heir. Daemon distinguishes himself in battle while alienating his older brother the King, who considers it his duty to maintain peace in the realm at any cost. Meanwhile, the younger members of House Targaryen grow up in various courts and build increasingly violent rivalries against each other.

Many years after Rhaenyra is declared heir to the throne, Alicent misinterprets Viserys’ dying words as a command to replace her with their son Aegon, setting off a chain of events leading to a civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. Expect House of the Dragon season 2 to revolve around that civil war.

Don’t Expect Game Of Thrones Levels Of Sex In Season 2

If you are a fan of Game of Thrones, then you are well aware of the sexual violence that took place during the series’ run. There was plenty of it, making some of the viewing quite uncomfortable to watch. With the House of the Dragon, they have taken a different approach – the less seen, the better. That approach will continue in season 2.

Much of the sexual violence in House of the Dragon is implied off-screen. Showrunner Ryan Condal explained, “While there are uncomfortable scenes in the show, we tried to stay away from anything that felt superfluous in the telling of the story. [SPOILERS] So when the rape [by Prince Aegon of a servant girl] happened in episode eight, it haunts viewers because they see what it does to the young woman instead of seeing the event itself. It is the story we are telling — we can imagine what it looked like. We have seen it on TV before. You don’t need to see the act itself.”

One thing Condal and the cast of House of the Dragon hope to bring to Season 2 is a little more humor. As Condal says, the writers are looking to find ways to introduce “natural pathways into moments of levity” into some of the heavy drama the series has given so far. He even has one specific person in mind.

One person Condal feels can carry the humor in House of the Dragon season 2 is Matt Smith, who plays Daemon Targaryen. “I think Matt Smith is very funny. If there is one character that does not care, it is Daemon.”

Elizabeth Olsen Is In Talks For House Of The Dragon Season 2

Through our insider sources, we can exclusively report that Elizabeth Olsen is being targeted for House of the Dragon season 2.

House of the Dragon has a great cast already, which included Paddy Considine in the role of King Viserys Targaryen. His performance alone has been stellar, but he is joined by fantastic performers that have truly reminded us of the original Games of Thrones style.

Those other performers are Steve Toussaint (Lord Corlys), Matt Smith, (Daemon Targaryen), Milly Alcock (Rhaenyra Targaryen), and Emily Carey (Alicent Hightower). Adding Elizabeth Olsen in House of the Dragon season 2 might just catapult this cast into something that exceeds all expectations.

Elizabeth Olsen being cast in House of the Dragon Season 2 is fantastic news, though news about the second season has not been that great. It was recently reported that current co-showrunner and director Miguel Sapochnik is said to be leaving the series after working on it for the past three years.

However, Alan Taylor is going to be stepping in as an executive producer for House of the Dragon season 2. Taylor worked on Games of Thrones extensively. Taking over as sole showrunner of the series will be Ryan Condal, who is co-creator of the prequel series.

We are not sure whose plan it was to bring in Olsen, but that might fall squarely under Condal now. We are not entirely sure who Olsen will be portraying in the series, but let’s say that we hope she is a witch of some sort. Yes, that is the obvious choice given her MCU portrayal of Wanda Maximoff, but she does play that part quite well.

There is a wealth of parts to pick from in terms of Elizabeth Olsen joining House of the Dragon Season 2. George R. R. Martin did write quite an expansive book, so fans can start to theorize who Olsen will be portraying.

Either way, adding her to the cast is a fantastic idea that we cannot wait to see. With House of the Dragon being renewed for a second season already, it sounds like production might be starting quite soon.

House of the Dragon Season 1 is currently streaming on HBO Max. The 10-episode series was a smash hit with audiences, and now we will get to see Elizabeth Olsen join House of the Dragon Season 2. Though we will have to patiently wait to see who she is cast as, one might wonder if we are going to see a younger version of Melisandre appear.

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