Get ready, because a new season of House of the Dragon is coming to you in 2026. So much happened in Season 2 of the series, from the sudden shift of the relationship between Alicent and Ser Criston Cole to Daemon being on an 'island on his own' over in Harrenhal and basically being in a real-life haunted house.
But now, a third season is on the way, and honestly, we’re champing at the bit for something new. Thankfully, there have been some new details that have come out over the last few months. Here is what we know so far about House of the Dragon Season 3.
What Is The House Of The Dragon Season 3 Premiere Date?
At the time of updating this in July 2025, there is no set premiere date, but, we do have a release timeline. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed in March 2025 that the fantasy will debut sometime in 2026, based on filming estimates. We also know from a Variety report that there will be eight episodes in Season 3, and that the next season, Season 4, will be its last.
I know that feels like ages away – but with all these Targaryens and their dragons, it's no wonder it takes so long. The amount of CGI needed must be intense. We’re halfway through 2025, so here’s hoping that we get a release date very soon.
Production Is Reportedly Halfway Done
If you’ve been waiting ages for an update to production on this show, here is your savior – because production on House of the Dragon Season 2 is about halfway done, maybe a little more. Production on Season 3 began in March of 2025, and according to a Movieweb report from that same month, filming is expected to last until October.
From there, the post-production phase will begin. This is great news, since it means that the show is most likely on track for its 2026 release.
The House Of The Dragon Season 3 Cast
There are several cast members that have been confirmed to return. These include:
- Emma D'Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen
- Matt Smith as King Consort Daemon Targaryen
- Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower
- Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon
- Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria
- Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole
- Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower
- Matthew Needham as Lord Larys Strong
- Harry Collett as Prince Jacaerys Velaryon
- Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen
- Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen
- Bethany Antonia as Lady Baela Targaryen
- Phoebe Campbell as Lady Rhaena Targaryen
- Phia Saban as Queen Helaena Targaryen
There are also some new confirmations as well.
According to Variety, as reported in January 2025, James Norton has joined the cast as Ormund Hightower. Then, in the previously mentioned article from THR, it was confirmed that Tommy Flanagan would play Ser Roderick Dustin, and Dan Folger would portray Ser Torrhen Manderly. Now this sounds right up my alley.
Then, in April 2025, it was confirmed by Deadline that three more actors had signed on. They are as follows:
- Tom Cullen as Ser Luthor Largent
- Joplin Sibtain as Ser “Bold” Jon Roxton
- Barry Sloana as Ser Adrian Refort
What Is House Of The Dragon Season 3 About?
The big question is, what is House of the Dragon Season 3 going to be about? The simple answer is that it will most likely be an all-out war. As we saw in the Season 2 finale, several houses of Westeros came together for the fight between the two claimants to the throne.
While most fans weren't pleased that now we're going to have to wait some time to see this battle, the showrunner of the series, Ryan Condal, spoke in a press conference (via The Hollywood Reporter) in August 2024 and defended his decision, saying they were going to pull off a "hell of a win" with the upcoming battle:
We are building to that event that will happen very shortly in terms of the storytelling, and it should be the biggest thing to date that we've pulled off. We just wanted to have the time and the space to do that at a level that is going to excite and satisfy the fans in the way it's deserved. We also wanted to build some anticipation toward it. So I apologize for the wait, but … with the team that we have together, we're going to pull off a hell of a win with The Battle of the Gullet.
There were a fair amount of fights during Season 2, like that gut-punch death between the Cargyll brothers, or, of course, Rook's Rest and its casualties, and the fall of Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, but everyone was really expecting the main battle to begin in the second season.
Condal has spoken about these upcoming battles in several interviews. In an interview with Gold Derby in May 2025, he said that they are working on two major battles, “enormous sequences that both eclipse Rook's Rest,” so now I’m even more excited.
Season 3 Will Be The Biggest Season Yet
It feels like with each of these seasons, this show just gets bigger and bigger. And now, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly in March 2025, Ryan Condal confirmed that Season 3 is the biggest they have done so far with House of the Dragon, especially with battles:
This is certainly our biggest season to date, both in terms of ambition and just the practical size, the amount of sets. We're cresting that narrative parabola here and starting to come down into, if not the endgame, the midpoint and getting into the late Act 2 and moving onto the start of Act 3. Anybody that's read that book knows that the narrative gets bigger and grimmer as it goes along, and the show has to match that ambition as best it possibly can.
He also added that the war itself gets “very hot” very fast in Season 3, and that a major naval battle – the Gullet – will happen much sooner than fans think:
I will say that the war this season goes very hot, very, very quickly. I think the people that were waiting and waiting for all of the horrible, brutal, pitiless bloodshed will be getting it in copious amounts…in many ways, the Gullet has been on the minds of the production for about three years now and trying to figure out how we were going to mount it in a way that was both producible and exciting, thrilling.
This continues to add up with the Gold Derby interview above, where Condal states that Season 3 is “even bigger” than the previous. Honestly, all this does is just get me excited for all the upcoming battles we will have. But it also makes me wonder just how intense these wars are going to be.
Season 3 Will Most Likely Introduce Daeron Targaryen
If you've been paying attention, you might notice that there was a name thrown around a couple of times in Season 2, and that's Daeron Targaryen – an heir who hasn't even appeared in the show yet and is currently in Oldtown. However, I have a feeling that he'll finally be showing up in Season 3.
We know that Daeron's dragon was in the show. It's a very quick blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, but we can see that his dragon, Tessarion, is there. Condal confirmed in that same press conference (via The Wrap) that we would be seeing Daeron in Season 3.
Now, this is where things get interesting, because Condal openly said in a panel at the 2025 Television Academy Saban Media Center’s panel (via Gold Derby) that Season 3 is going to have a “character-driven” episode that is sort of like a “conceptual” one, as it won’t be like a normal HOTD installment:
There's a conceptual episode, meaning that it isn't in the traditional vernacular of what we've laid out as the structure of a House of the Dragon episode. It's very character-driven, and I think it's really great and I'm really excited to see it rendered.
Could this episode be the one that finally introduces Daeron to the world? Or are we going to just get a normal introduction for this long-awaited character? I’m aching to see what happens next.
With 2026 feeling like it’s approaching pretty fast, I can’t wait to see what they fire up in House of the Dragon Season 3. Only time will tell where the cards will land with this iconic story.
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