House Of The Dragon UK release date and cast: How to watch the Game of Thrones spin-off

Less than a week separates Game Of Thrones fans from the  fantasy drama’s first spin-off, but will it be worth the wait? 

Starting from August 22, House Of The Dragon will document the lives of Daenerys Targaryen’s incestuous relatives some 200 years before the battle for seven kingdoms.

The HBO series was created by Game Of Thrones author George R.R. Martin and is based on his sprawling 2018 book Fire & Blood – a comprehensive history of the House Targaryen.

Helping create the series are showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik, a director on GOT.

The first teaser trailer was dropped in May 2022, three years on from the finale, The Iron Throne, of GOT. 

HBO released the official trailer for House of the Dragon two months later, giving fans a proper insight into what to expect.

Here, MailOnline takes another look at the forthcoming show.  

Exciting: Starting from August 22, House Of The Dragon will document the lives of Daenerys Targaryen’s incestuous relatives some 200 years before the battle for seven kingdoms

When will the prequel come out? 

The $200M-budget House of Targaryen origin tale – set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones – will unveil all 10 episodes beginning August 21 on HBO.

Who’s starring in House of the Dragon? 

Paddy Considine will play King Viserys I, the head of the Targaryen family. Emmy D’Arcy will be Princess Rhaenrya, Viserys’ first child and his heir apparent, and Matt Smith will be Prince Daemon, Viserys’ younger brother.

There are also non-Targaryen cast members in the key cast including, Rhys Ifans who will portray Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King; Olivia Cooke will be Otto’s daughter, Lady Alicent Hightower (who in the book, becomes Queen when she marries Viserys); and Fabien Frankel will be Ser Criston Cole, a knight who loves Princess Rhaenrya. 

Not long to go: The ten-episode spin-off will show the bitter and brutal civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons

Completing the cast are Sonyo Mizuno, who will play Mysaria, Prince Daemon’s lover, and Eve Best and Steve Toussaint, who will portray married royals Princess Rhaenys Velaryon and Lord Corlys Velaryon.

The Velaryons are a notable change from the book, in the adaptation, they are wealthy Black rulers. 

Co-showrunner Ryan Condal explained to Entertainment Weekly: ‘It was very important for Miguel [Sapochnik] and I to create a show that was not another bunch of white people on the screen.

‘We wanted to find a way to put diversity in the show, but we didn’t want to do it in a way that felt like it was an afterthought or, worse, tokenism.’

What can we expect?

Thrilling: The HBO series was created by GOT author George R.R. Martin and is based on his book Fire & Blood

According to The Hollywood Reporter viewers can expect several multi-year jumps throughout House of the Dragon unlike GOT which is the story of a royal family gone mad with power and wealth. 

House of Dragons, according to Miguel, follows four different characters trying to claim the throne. 

He said: ‘There’s the king, his brother, the king’s daughter and her best friend. Then the best friend becomes the king’s wife and thereby the queen.’ 

Essentially the story is, what if your best friend hooks up with your dad?, which wouldn’t exactly raise eyebrows with the Targaryen’s  who are use to incest.

The wait is almost over: The $200M-budget House of Targaryen origin tale – set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones – will unveil all 10 episodes beginning August 21 on HBO

The Iron Thone-hungry characters conspire to rule after the death of people-pleasing King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine).

Viserys planned on having his first-born child – Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) – become the Seven Kingdoms’ first queen regnant.

But Viserys’ hell-raising brother Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and a slew of other men in power have other ideas in the series, which has a decade time jump halfway through.

Princess Rhaenys Velaryon (Eve Best) – who was passed over as queen by her cousin Viserys – warns Rhaenyra: ‘A woman would not inherit the Iron Throne because that is the order of things.’

Rhaenyra defiantly replies in the trailer: ‘When I am queen, I will create a new order.’ 

Viserys planned on having his first-born child – Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) – become the Seven Kingdoms’ first queen regnant but Viserys’ brother had other plans (Paddy Considine as King Viserys I)

Meanwhile, Rhaenyra’s childhood BFF Lady Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) – whose character is described as ‘a bit more sympathetic than Cersei Lannister’ – weds Viserys to become queen so she can also vy for the Iron Throne.

As for the 17 different dragons featured in the show, Viserys believes ‘They’re a power man should never have trifled with.’

During the show preview a dragon egg is ready to hatch from a coal-fueled incubator.

 Will Emilia Clarke be in House of Dragons?

No, Emilia Clarke will not be reprising her role as Daenerys Targaryen. As the show is set centuries before the events of GOT, her character doesn’t make sense to be in the plot.

House of Dragons will hit viewers screens on August 21 on HBO.  

Sad news: Emilia Clarke (pictured in the centre in 2017) will not be reprising her role as Daenerys Targaryen. As the show is set centuries before the events of GOT, her character doesn’t make sense to be in the plot