The first images of the House of the Dragon cast in costume have been released, and they tease some key story details from the Game of Thrones prequel. Created by A Song of Ice and Fire writer George R.R. Martin alongside Ryan Condal (Colony), House of the Dragon will be the first of what HBO hopes will be many Game of Thrones spinoffs. Condal himself will serve as co-showrunner alongside longtime Thrones director Miguel Sapochnik, with the show slated for a 2022 release on HBO Max.
With that, HBO has started to release the first look images from House of the Dragon, with filming underway in the UK. This includes photos of several cast members in costume, featuring: Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, heir to the Iron Throne; Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, brother of King Viserys; Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Viserys’ second wife; Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Alicent’s father and Hand of the King; and Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon, aka the Sea Snake, a famed seafarer.
These characters will serve as some of the key players as House of the Dragon charts the events leading to the Dance of the Dragons. The Targaryen Civil War divides Westeros in two following the death of King Viserys, as both his firstborn daughter, Rhaenyra, and his eldest son to Alicent, Aegon, attempt to claim the Iron Throne. While it’s still early days for the Game of Thrones spinoff, the photos do give some intriguing hints in that direction.
The Greens & The Blacks: The Targaryen Civil War Factions
The Dance of the Dragons split House Targaryen (and indeed, much of Westeros) into two warring factions, known as the greens and the blacks. The blacks were those who supported the claim to the Iron Throne of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, and the greens were those loyal to Alicent Hightower and in support of Aegon Targaryen’s own claim. The costumes worn by the pair in the House of the Dragon photos give a nice nod to this, with Rhaenyra dressed in the more traditional colors of House Targaryen, and Alicent in green. This is also in keeping with how the factions came to get their names: at a tourney celebrating the anniversary of Alicent and Viserys, the former wore a dress of green, while Rhaenyra wore red and black. Whether that event makes it to screen or not remains to be seen, but it’s still clear that the factions will take their names from how the two characters dress.
Otto Hightower as Hand of The King Hints At House Of The Dragon’s Timeline
The photo of Alicent Hightower shows her standing with her father, Otto, a clever man and, as the pin on his costume confirms, Hand of the King. While it was always expected that Otto would be Hand of the King in House of the Dragon, it does allow for a clearer sense of timeline, because it presents two options. Otto lost his position as Hand in 109 AC, because of his belief that Viserys and Alicent’s sons should be named his heirs rather than Rhaenyra. In 120 AC, following the death of his replacement, Lyonel Strong, Otto resumed the position. Otto being Hand suggests, then, that House of the Dragon will either start extremely early in the timeline of the Dance of the Dragons, or following the death of strong in 120 AC, which was a momentous year known as the Year of the Red Spring. Viserys dies and the Dance begins in 129 AC, so the latter may be more likely.
Daemon Targaryen’s Costume Draws Parallels To Viserys & Rhaegar
Daemon Targaryen will be another one of the key players in House of the Dragon, and while there isn’t a huge amount to be gleaned from his costume, it does highlight just how much he fits with the other Targaryen princes seen in Game of Thrones. The outfit Daemon wears is relatively simple, but the design – especially with the shoulders – very much fits with both Viserys and Rhaegar. In terms of character, he may fall somewhere between the two: like Rhaegar, he is considered to be dashing, charming, and a skilled warrior. But like Viserys, he is arrogant, ambitious, and prone to flashes of anger and violence. The House of the Dragon photos show Daemon on a beach with Rhaenyra, who is his niece and will also become his wife (because it wouldn’t be Game of Thrones without incest), though it’s unclear whether or not they’re married at this point in the timeline. That the photos very clearly link them together, though, suggests that if they’re not romantically involved already, it won’t be long before it happens.
House Of The Dragon’s Improved Diversity
One aspect Game of Thrones was often criticized for, even when at its peak, was its lack of diversity; people of color were rarely given prominent roles on the show, and even when it did happen those characters started out as slaves, such as Grey Worm and Missandei. The House of the Dragon photos, however, make it clear that this will take a different approach to diversity and be more inclusive: the photos are of the most important players (though some others are missing),which means this is perhaps the most prominent role to date for a person of color in this universe. While some will no doubt quibble with having a Black man play a character of Valyrian descent, it obviously isn’t an issue and should be seen as a positive, both for increasing representation in the show and making Westeros seem more diverse.
A Possible Velaryon Funeral Could Bring The Characters Together
While the House of the Dragon images show three different sets of characters, all from different houses, there is one thing to unite them: they’re all standing on a beach – which begs the question of why. A possible answer could lie with the presence of Corlys Velaryon and, more specifically, his children: his son, Laenor, and daughter, Laena. Laenor was married to Rhaenyra Targaryen, while Laena was wed to Daemon, but both of them would die at different points in the year 120 AC. That lends further credence to the idea that’s when the show begins, and the photos could be the characters coming together for one of these funerals. If both Daemon and Rhaenyra have lost their spouses by this point, then this could be the genesis of their marriage, which takes place just a few months after the deaths of Laena and Laenor. Adding further weight to this idea is that set photos from House of the Dragon have seemingly shown a stone casket with the sigil of House Velaryon [via @HOTDBr on Twitter]. Combined with the official images, then it further suggests a funeral will bring these characters together early in the show’s run. The funeral of Laena was of particular note for tensions mounting between the greens and the blacks, so that would make sense for this point of the series.
Cast Members & Characters Missing From House Of The Dragon’s Photos
The most notable absence from the House of the Dragon photos is King Viserys I Targaryen, played by Paddy Considine – the first actor cast in the Game of Thrones prequel. While ostensibly the main character, at least for season 1 of the show – the likelihood is that Viserys will not be a key player for too much of its run, since it’s his death that starts the Dance of the Dragons. Depending on how much time it devotes to the build-up, he will probably only be around for two seasons max, and perhaps only the first. It could simply be the case that Viserys is being saved for a later reveal, but also as a hint that these are the characters who’ll be around longer. Other House of the Dragon characters who have been cast but aren’t present include Rhaenys Targaryen, Corlys’ wife, who’ll be played by Eve Best; Lady Mysaria, Daemon’s lover and mistress of whisperers (played by Sonoya Mizuno), and Criston Cole, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard (played by Fabian Frankel), though none are quite as prominent as those featured so far. As House of the Dragon ramps up production, then more images and reveals can be expected, giving even more clues into the Game of Thrones prequel.
