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TL;DR:

  • House of the Dragon is renewed for season 2, but its premiere is a ways off.
  • The Game of Thrones prequel is expected to debut sometime in 2024.
  • Although House of the Dragon isn’t greenlit for more seasons, it may require them.
Matt Smith and Emma D'Arcy as Daemon and Rhaenyra Targaryen in 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 for our article about its expected 2024 premiere
Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy in ‘House of the Dragon’ | Ollie Upton/HBO

Despite Game of Thrones’ controversial final season, House of the Dragon has become one of the biggest debuts of 2022. And after a heart-wrenching season 1 finale that kicked off the Dance of the Dragons in full, many are wondering when they’ll return to Westeros — and the Targaryen Civil war. Sadly, House of the Dragon Season 2 isn’t likely to premiere any time soon. In fact, it isn’t expected to debut until 2024.

‘House of the Dragon’ is renewed for season 2, but production hasn’t started

When it comes to House of the Dragon Season 2, fans are fortunate in one regard: they don’t need to wait on a renewal notice from HBO. The network already greenlit another batch of episodes back in August, right after House of the Dragon premiered. As such, we’ll definitely see how things play out between Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and the Green Council. However, it may be a while before we do.

Although House of the Dragon Season 2 is confirmed, the cast and crew haven’t begun filming the next outing just yet. During an interview with Variety, showrunner Ryan Condal revealed that production is expected to begin in the early part of 2023. That means House of the Dragon Season 2 is unlikely to premiere before 2024 — a sentiment HBO chairman and CEO Casey Bloys recently shared.

‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 is expected to premiere in 2024

Speaking with Vulture about House of the Dragon Season 2, HBO boss Casey Bloys admitted that he doesn’t expect the next outing to premiere until 2024. He didn’t elaborate on when in 2024 we might see it, but that was his estimate. Here’s what he had to say on the subject:

“Don’t expect it in ’23, but I think sometime in ’24. We’re just starting to put the plan together, and just like last time, there are so many unknowns. It’s not to be coy or secretive, but you don’t want to say it’s going to be ready on this date, and then you have to move it.”

Given season 2’s production timeline, Bloys’ comment makes sense. With filming kicking off in 2023, getting the new episodes out the same year would leave things tight. A 2024 premiere gives the network more time to prepare for House of the Dragon‘s return. And they may have to go through that process again, assuming the Game of Thrones prequel gets renewed for more seasons later on.

The ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel may need 4 seasons to tell its story

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House of the Dragon‘s future is blurry beyond season 2, but author George R.R. Martin anticipates that the series will need at least four seasons to tell its story.

In one of his Not a Blog entries, Martin guessed that the prequel would need about 40 episodes to do the Dance of the Dragons justice.

“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,” he wrote.

With that in mind, hopefully, the show will get two more renewals after its second season debuts. We’d certainly like to see the Game of Thrones prequel take its time with all of its drama and suspense. In fact, one of the biggest complaints about season 1 was that the time jumps felt rushed. Perhaps we’ll see that improved when future outings arrive.

Stay tuned here for more updates about House of the Dragon Season 2 and its premiere.

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