House of the Dragon, HBO’s much-anticipated prequel series to their hit ‘Game of Thrones,’ has will premiere on Sunday, August 21.  The network shared the news on social media, as well as first-look photos for the prequel series. The new show is based on George R.R. Martin’s 2018 book Fire and Blood, a companion to the A Song of Ice and Fire series that inspired Game of Thrones.

House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Thrones, focusing on the story of the rise and fall of House Targaryen, the ruling house into which Emilia Clarke’s Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen was eventually born.  The series stars Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen; Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the king’s first-born child; Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, the king’s younger brother and heir to the throne; Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, a sea adventurer and Lord of House Velaryon; Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, the “Hand of the King”; Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Otto’s daughter; and Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, an ally to Prince Daemon.

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