Curiously enough, Ryan Condal and Casey Bloys can’t seem to agree on whether or not the second season of House of the Dragon will come out next year or two years from now. According to GQ, the hit series will begin filming its follow-up season next year and could still premiere just in time before the year ends. Or, at least, that’s what the House of the Dragon’s sole showrunner starting next season appears to imply. But, if you ask the HBO and HBO Max chief content officer, Casey Bloys, fans shouldn’t “expect [House of the Dragon Season 2] in ‘23”, as per Vulture. So, which is which? On one hand, it’s not unreasonable for fans to expect House of the Dragon’s subsequent seasons to premiere one year after the other. This was the trend for the parent show, Game of Thrones, up until the seventh season. It wasn’t until the highly divisive final season that Game of Thrones made fans wait for two years. But, House of the Dragon isn’t Game of Thrones, it’s like comparing apples to oranges. House of the Dragon is far more CGI-heavy with more than a dozen dragons appearing in the debut season alone. When you consider that the season finale pretty much kickstarted the Dance of the Dragons, the name for the Targaryen civil war that almost decimated the incestuous bloodline, we can expect Season 2 to have far more. Here’s a list of all the dragons that we’ve seen in House of the Dragon Season 1:
Syrax Caraxes Vhagar Meleys Seasmoke Vermax Arrax Vermithor Tyraxes Moondancer Sunfyre Dreamfyre Silverwing
That’s 13 dragons in total that require extensive CGI work, even if more than half didn’t do more than just look pretty for the camera. Season 2 is expected to add at least three more who also nest on Dragonstone: Cannibal, Grey Ghost, and Sheepstealer. Another unclaimed dragon, Silverwing, could appear in Season 2 as well. With potentially 17 dragons that could all play a significant role in each episode, we wouldn’t be surprised if the CGI work on the dragons is what takes up the bulk of HBO’s time. As much as HBO would love to capitalize on the success of House of the Dragon, it knows better now than to rush things. Besides, House of the Dragon is proof that the demand for more Game of Thrones will always be there, regardless of how long the wait for subsequent seasons takes. Ultimately, we’re pinning hopes on what Bloys said, that production and development only move forward when both HBO and George R.R. Martin are happy with the story. If it’s any consolation, George R.R. Martin did just claim that Winds of Winter is already 75% complete. As long as he can keep himself away from Elden Ring and the NFL, there’s a high chance that Winds of Winter could arrive before House of the Dragon Season 2. Hopefully, we’ll hear more about the other Game of Thrones spinoffs soon as well, including the Kit Harrington-led spinoff.
