TV & Movies

House of the Dragon Season 2: 2024 release, cast, plot & more

Alicent and Rhaenyra in House of the DragonHBO

The Dance of the Dragons has begun: here’s what we know about House of the Dragon Season 2, including any release date updates, cast details, plot, and more.

HBO’s House of the Dragon is returning for a second season after going down incredibly well with both Game of Thrones fans and new audiences, earning back the respect its predecessor lost with its questionable final run.

The prequel show, based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood, tells the story of House Targaryen 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen and the death of the Mad King. Season 1 focused on the Targaryen civil war that became known as the Dance of the Dragons.

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With each episode of House of the Dragon averaging 29 million viewers and the series earning high praise from critics and at-home audiences alike, you may be wondering when to expect Season 2 – so, here’s everything we know, from its release date to trailer, cast, plot, and other details.

Spoilers for House of the Dragon to follow…

Contents:

Is House of the Dragon Season 2 happening?

House of the Dragon is returning for Season 2.

It’ll come as no surprise that House of the Dragon is returning for a second run after the series premiere became HBO’s biggest launch in history, attracting “unprecedented demand” in Europe and nearly 10 million viewers across the US.

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The first episode also took the top spot as the most-viewed premiere on premium cable and streaming in 2022, managing to beat Stranger Things Season 4, its main competitor for pop-cultural dominance last year.

In a statement shared by Deadline, Francesca Orsi, EVP of HBO Programming, said: “We are beyond proud of what the entire House of the Dragon team has accomplished with Season 1.

“Our phenomenal cast and crew undertook a massive challenge and exceeded all expectations, delivering a show that has already established itself as must-see-TV.

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“A huge thank you to George [R.R. Martin], Ryan [Condal], and Miguel [Sapochnik] for leading us on this journey. We couldn’t be more excited to continue bringing to life the epic saga of House Targaryen with Season 2.”

Is there a House of the Dragon Season 2 release date?

House of the Dragon Season 2 will be released in summer 2024.

The latest update comes from Variety, which reported that HBO is targeting a summer 2024 premiere for the second season following the end of the writers’ strike.

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It was never going to arrive much earlier. Speaking to Vulture at the tail end of 2022, HBO chief content officer Casey Bloys said: “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… don’t expect it in 2023.”

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Development for the second season started in August 2022, with filming kicking off on April 11 this year. Despite the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which saw many high-profile productions halt progress, House of the Dragon was not among those impacted.

Filming still continued as planned for the second season, with George R. R. Martin confirming as much in a May 8 blog post. “The second season started filming April 11 and will continue in London and Wales. The scripts for the eight episodes were finished months ago, long before the strike began. Every episode has gone through four or five drafts and numerous rounds of revisions to address HBO notes, my notes, budget concerns, etc.” Martin assured.

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“The writers have done their jobs; the rest is in the hands of the directors, cast, and crew, and of course, the dragons.”

According to Variety, filming was permitted to continue as it features actors from the UK who are working under Equity contracts, a different union from SAG-AFTRA. Due to British labor laws, Equity actors are not allowed to strike in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA.

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Franchise creator George R.R. Martin took to his blog to confirm that the series was still filming: “One of the few shows till shooting is HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, as you may have read. That’s true. I am told the second season is half done,” he explained. “HOT D is shot mostly in London (and a little bit in Wales, Spain, and various other locations), which is why filming has continued. The actors are members of the British union, Equity, not SAG-AFTRA, and though Equity strongly supports their American cousins (they have a big rally planned to show that support), British law forbids them from staging a sympathy strike. If they walk, they have no protection against being fired for breach of contract, or even sued. As for me personally, my overall deal with HBO was suspended on June 1. I still have plenty to do, of course. In that, I am one of the lucky ones.”

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We’ll update this space upon further announcements.

House of the Dragon Season 2 cast: Who’s in it?

The House of the Dragon cast we can expect to return in Season 2 is as follows:

  • Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen
  • Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen
  • Olivia Cooke as Lady Alicent Hightower
  • Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower
  • Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen
  • Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon II Targaryen
  • Phia Saban as Helaena Targaryen
  • Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon
  • Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen
  • Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole
  • Graham McTavish as Ser Harrold Westerling

Despite being fan favorites, we won’t be seeing Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as the younger versions of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Lady Alicent Hightower, respectively, due to the timeline.

Although Carey said there’d been “conversations” about the potential for flashbacks, creator Ryan Condal told Variety: “I mean, look, I don’t know. [They] are not a part of the story that we’re telling yet. That’s not a thing that we’re doing right now.” That being said, he’s keeping his options open, meaning there could be potential for their return down the line.

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Paddy Considine won’t return as King Viserys I, given his death in Episode 9.

Beyond that, we can also expect some new additions in Season 2. As first reported by Entertainment Weekly on April 24, four new actors have been cast for the next batch of episodes. They are as follows:

  • Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong
  • Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayn Hightower
  • Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers
  • Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull
  • Amanda Collin as Jeyne Arryn

House of the Dragon Season 2 plot: What will it be about?

Although no official plot details have been shared regarding House of the Dragon Season 2 at the time of writing, we can expect a tale of war to unfold in the next run.

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While Game of Thrones was concerned with the resurgence of the White Walkers, as well as the sprawling contention for the Iron Throne, House of the Dragon is focused on one family: the Targaryens.

Last November, Graham McTavish, who plays Ser Harrold Westerling, teased what may be going down in this world in Season 2. “I think the way that it’s going, is it’s leading to civil war,” he told Metro. “Civil war is that great thing that countries indulge in when they haven’t got anybody else to go and fight, they seem to just like fighting amongst themselves just to keep their hand in, and this is no different. They’ve had peace for a long, long time, and suddenly they are quite literally destroying the kingdom from within and that’s what makes it so interesting, so I would expect more of that – more division, more taking sides.”

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Condal also said in his interview with Variety to not expect any major time jumps, explaining that after Season 1, “the storytelling becomes fairly in the rhythms of the original ‘Game of Thrones’ series.”

You can check out our House of the Dragon coverage here for detailed reviews and recaps of the past episodes.

House of the Dragon Season 2 trailer: Is there a trailer?

No, there is no trailer for House of the Dragon Season 2 at the time of writing, but one could be coming later this year.

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The show began production in early April 2023 as its official Twitter account tweeted a picture of the Iron Throne with the message, “It’s time to return to King’s Landing. Season 2 of #HouseoftheDragon is now in production.”

HoTD fans thought the show would halt production due to the current WGA writer’s strike, but it was reported that the scripts for Season 2 had been finished for “some time.” George R.R. Martin went on to explain that every episode in Season 2 had “gone through four or five drafts and numerous rounds of revisions, to address HBO notes, my notes, budget concerns, etc.” and that “there will be no further revisions” to any of the scripts.

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As House of the Dragon is set to premiere next year and will continue filming uninterrupted, fans can get their hopes up about seeing a trailer by the end of the year.

That’s everything we know about House of the Dragon Season 2. We’ll update this page upon further announcements, and in the meantime, you can check out our other TV hubs below:

Invincible Season 2 | The Boys Season 4 | Stranger Things Season 5 | Severance Season 2 | Harry Potter TV show | The Night Agent Season 2 | Saw X | Joker 2 | Borderland movie | The Mandalorian Season 4 | Heartstopper Season 3 | Wonka | Dune 2 | Rings of Power Season 2

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Related Topics

Game of ThronesHouse of the Dragon