Everything We Know About the 'Game of Thrones' Prequel Series 'House of the Dragon' So Far

Game of Thrones aired for eight seasons, and it was basically a no-brainer that HBO would be producing a prequel series afterwards to keep the success going. The first announced show in the works was going to chronicle a time thousands of years before the start of GoT, and was set to star actress Naomi Watts. Unfortunately, that planned project was eventually scrapped, even though it had reportedly started filming, leaving fans wondering if we'd get any more content from the world of Westeros. Fortunately, another prequel series was then officially announced in Oct. 2019, titled House of the Dragon. Here's what we know about it so far.

It will be based on George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood.

George R.R. Martin's novel Fire & Blood will serve as the source of inspiration for the plot of House of the Dragon. The first volume was published in 2018, telling the story of House Targaryen, who we were introduced to in Season 1 of Game of Thrones with Daenerys and her brother, Viserys. We weren't able to dive deep into her family tree, however, as she was one of the last living family members even back when the series began.

The series will likely chronicle the Targaryen family's tumultuous past.

Game of Thrones showed that the Targaryen family has a long standing history of inbreeding, secrets, betrayal, war, and insanity. Fire & Blood covers topics like the first Aegon Targaryen's conquest of the Seven Kingdoms and his subsequent reign, as well as the lives of his sons. Seems like we will probably be meeting Dany's ancestors, and Martin confirmed there will definitely be dragons present!

Ryan Condal is serving as co-creator.

Martin shared on his blog that he's been working with writer and producer Ryan Condal (Rampage, Colony), on the show. "Ryan Condal is new to Westeros, but not to me," the acclaimed author wrote. "I first met Ryan when he came to New Mexico to shoot a pilot for a fantasy western that was not picked up. I visited his set and we became friendly...He’s a terrific writer… and a fan of my books since well before we met." Sounds like we'll be in good hands.

A GoT director is returning.

Per a tweet from the Game of Thrones Twitter account announcing the show, Miguel Sapochnik, who directed many of the original HBO series' biggest episodes, such as "Battle of the Bastards" and "Hardhome," will be returning for House of the Dragon as showrunner alongside Condal. Sapochnik is also known for directing a handful of other notable shows, such as True Detective, Masters of Sex, and Altered Carbon.

The release date is seemingly up in the air.

Martin claimed back in January that his "guess" was that the show would premiere sometime in 2022, however with the film industry facing major delays due to safety concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, there's no word on when the show will begin filming. Additionally, Martin revealed he wouldn't be writing any scripts for House of the Dragon until he finished up with The Winds of Winter, which has been in the works since his last book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Dance With Dragons, debuted in 2011. The good news, however, is that he says he's been "writing every day" while keeping indoors and social distancing, leaving fans with the hope that The Winds of Winter will come soon.