‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 Begins Filming

The “Game of Thrones” prequel series likely won’t return until 2024.

House Targaryen is gearing up for war. Season 2 of “House of the Dragon,” the “Game of Thrones” prequel series, has begun production at Leavesden Studios in the United Kingdom, HBO announced Tuesday.

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“’House of the Dragon’ has returned. We are thrilled to be shooting again with members of our original family as well as new talents on both sides of the camera,” Ryan Condal, the co-creator and showrunner of the series, said in a statement. “All your favorite characters will soon be conspiring at the council tables, marching with their armies, and riding their dragons into battle. We can’t wait to share what we have in store.”

Season 1 of “House of the Dragon” premiered in August 2022, with the season finale airing that October. The season began production in April 2021 and ran until roughly February 2022. In an interview with The Face from last year, cast member Ewan Mitchell said Season 2 would shoot for “eight months” in 2023; if true, production on the season would last until December.

A release date for the season hasn’t been announced. In an interview with Variety in February, HBO content CEO Casey Bloys said that some time in 2024 would be a “good guess” for when the fantasy epic returns.

A prequel to HBO’s massively popular “Game of Thrones,” which itself is based on George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” fantasy novel series, “House of the Dragon” is adapted from Martin’s 2018 “Fire & Blood” prequel. Set 200 years before “Game of Thrones,” “House of the Dragon” focuses on House Targaryen, the ruling family of the Westeros continent, and the civil war that develops between them over a succession crisis. Season 1 was a massive hit, drawing almost 10 million viewers in the premiere episode. Martin has stated he wants the show to run for four seasons, and HBO is currently developing other “Game of Thrones” spinoffs.

The series stars Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans. Recurring cast back for the second season include Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, and Matthew Needham.

Condal co-created the series with Martin, and co-showran Season 1 with Miguel Sapochnik. Sapochnik has since exited the series, and Condal will serve as sole showrunner going forward. Martin and Condal executive produce “House of the Dragon” with Sara Hess, Alan Taylor, Melissa Bernstein, Kevin de la Noy, Loni Peristere, and Vince Gerardis.