Some of the most important conclusions drawn from THR’s in-depth cover article on HBO’s “House of the Dragon.”
The House of the Dragon has had a major news week. The official teaser for HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel was released (see below), the show will premiere at Comic-Con on Saturday, and The Hollywood Reporter published its in-depth Dragon cover story. The narrative followed the process through which HBO changed course from its largest success to locate its first spinoff series. It then visited the set of the UK-based series to speak with the actors, showrunners, and author George R.R. Martin.
Here are some of the most talked-about news items related to the programme, which takes place 150 years before the events of Game of Thrones.
The framework of Dragon is distinctive and more akin to Netflix’s The Crown than Game of Thrones: The season has numerous large time jumps (including a significant 10-year shift around halfway through) and cast changes (the female protagonists change from Emily Carey and Milly Alcock to Olivia Cooke and Emma D’Arcy). Showrunner Ryan Condal explains, “This is how you tell this narrative right.” “We’re narrating the tale of a generational conflict. When the first sword stroke is struck, everything is set up so that you are aware of all the participants.
What Game of Thrones did for weddings, the new show will do for babies. Showrunner Miguel Sapochnik claims that giving birth was violent in mediaeval times. “It’s as risky as they come. There is a 50/50 probability that you will succeed. We simply planned to give the many births in the programme distinct themes and examine them from various angles, much as I did for a lot of fights on Game of Thrones. While Dragon “pulls back” on the quantity of sex compared to Game of Thrones, Sapochnik says it will nonetheless represent sexual violence as it exists in its fantasy world with Middle Ages influences: “slowly, intelligently, and [we] don’t shy away from it. We’re going to highlight that characteristic, if anything. It shouldn’t be exaggerated or minimised.
Described as “mature, smart and cerebral, and there was a philosophical dialogue at its heart about disenfranchisement in the face of colonialism and religious fanaticism,” the enigmatic, unproduced Bloodmoon pilot for HBO starring Naomi Watts was written by Jane Goldman. Martin, however, the ultimate insider, has never been given access to the outcome. One executive said, “It wasn’t unwatchable or terrible or anything. It looked great and was well made. However, it didn’t transport me to the same location as the first series.
