The Targaryens are on their way back to television courtesy of the upcoming House of the Dragon spinoff of HBO's smash hit Game of Thrones, and the prequel action will be ready for fans by the end of 2022. That said, there haven't been too many official updates about how far along the show is in the production process... until now, as A Song of Ice and Fire and Fire & Blood author George R.R. Martin has decided to celebrate "Targaryen Thursday" with some exciting news: the first season has finished shooting.
George R.R. Martin posted the exciting news about House of the Dragon finishing filming on Twitter with the #TargaryenThursday hashtag, which he often uses to announce news about the Game of Thrones universe. He went into more detail on his Not A Blog website, where he wrote:
Exciting news out of London — I am informed that shooting has WRAPPED for the first season of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON. Yes, all ten episodes. I have seen rough cuts of a few of them, and I’m loving them. Of course, a lot more work needs to be done. Special effects, color timing, score, all the post production work. But the writing, the directing, the acting all look terrific. I hope you will like them as much as I do. My hat is off to Ryan and Miguel and their team, and to our amazing cast.
Well, it's not the news that Winds of Winter is on the verge of publication, but it's definitely exciting news for the next chapter of the story of Westeros on HBO! George R.R. Martin confirmed that filming for all ten episodes has finished, and has loved the rough cuts he's seen so far, which echoes earlier comments about what he'd seen so far with the cut of the series premiere.
Of course, as he noted, there's still a hefty postproduction process, and it's safe to say that a show called House of the Dragon will include a fair amount of dragons that have to be added in post, not to mention all the other special effects. Still, it sounds like showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik (not to mention the cast members) have a lot to be proud of, if Martin's words are any indication of what's on the way.
Some episodes are obviously further along in the postproduction process than others, even if the first season has finished shooting. A trailer with some pretty polished footage of Targaryens at the height of their power released back in October 2021. So, when can fans of the Game of Thrones universe look forward to the era covered by the author's Fire & Blood history of the Targaryen dynasty? Not even George R.R. Martin can say for sure, as he explained:
So when will you get to see it, you ask? When will the dragons dance? I wish I could tell you. Lots of work remains to be done, as I said, and covid makes planning difficult. This spring? Unlikely. Maybe summer? Could be. Fall? Who knows? You’ll know when we do.
The planned premiere for House of the Dragon was announced all the way back in 2020, although no more precise date than the year was given. Still, it's a good sign for the show's production that filming wrapped in mid-February, particularly since the COVID pandemic affected many TV and film productions to cause delays over the past couple of years. George R.R. Martin tweeted an image as well to reiterate that the plan is still for the spinoff to debut this year:
#TargaryenThrusday BONUS Exciting news out of London — I am informed that shooting has WRAPPED for the first season of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON. https://t.co/DZ2uMICFck pic.twitter.com/05tEfHWFqjFebruary 18, 2022
The bits and pieces of House of the Dragon that have released so far, combined with the events of Martin's fictional Targaryen history book called Fire & Blood, readers can probably guess some of the broadest storylines that are on the way, particularly with the author's use of "will the dragons dance?" If you're like me, you already consulted your copy of Fire & Blood to connect some dots. (If not and you don't mind potential show spoilers from the book, you can check out the rundown of some of what I've speculated is on the way.)
With Martin still not providing a timeline for when the very long-awaited Winds of Winter will be ready to continue the A Song of Ice and Fire novel saga that was adapted for HBO with Game of Thrones, you can always rewatch the original series streaming with an HBO Max subscription, or just check out our 2022 TV schedule for some viewing options to pass the time until House of the Dragon.
