House of the Dragon Trailer: Game of Thrones Spin-Off Promises Fire, Blood, and Dragons

House of the Dragon trailer is here. On Thursday, HBO unveiled the first teaser trailer for the Game of Thrones spin-off that takes place two centuries before the events of Game of Thrones. Kicking off with King Viserys Targaryen — the Seven Kingdoms’ fifth ruler — House of the Dragon will directly lead into the great Targaryen civil war famously known as the Dance of the Dragons. There are signs of this conflict in the first House of the Dragon trailer, with Matt Smith’s Prince Daemon opposed to the idea of Princess Rhaenyra being named as Viserys’ heir. There’s a couple of dragons and dragon eggs too. Alongside, we got a bunch of House of the Dragon character posters too.

“What is this brief mortal life, if not the pursuit of legacy?” Lord Corlys “Sea Snake” Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) says at the start of the House of the Dragon trailer. As a dragon swoops over King’s Landing, the rulers of Westeros — Rickard Stark, Boremund Baratheon, and Velaryon — pledge their fealty to their new king, Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine), and his named heir Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy). But it seems Prince Daemon (Smith) takes issue with that, as a woman says: “Men would sooner put the realm to the torch, than see a woman ascend the Iron Throne.”

House of the Dragon trailer

The second half of the House of the Dragon trailer opens with Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) — the Hand of the King — who admits they play an “ugly game” and tells his daughter Lady Alicent (Olivia Cooke) that she has the “determination to win it.” Stern glances are exchanged, people are beaten up and blood flows, and ultimately, swords and daggers are drawn. Words from Velaryon close out the House of the Dragon trailer, as he remarks: “History does not remember blood. It remembers names.”

In addition to Toussaint, Considine, D’Arcy, Smith, Ifans and Cooke, House of the Dragon also stars Eve Best as Corlys’ wife Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as young Rhaenyra and Alicent, Fabien Frankel as skilled swordsman Ser Criston Cole, and Sonoya Mizuno as dancer and Daemon’s most trusted ally Mysaria. Ryan J. Condal and Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin are the creators of this Thrones spin-off, with Condal serving as co-showrunner with director Miguel Sapochnik.

House of the Dragon begins August 21 on HBO and HBO Max wherever available, and August 22 on Disney+ Hotstar in India. All eight Game of Thrones seasons are currently available on Disney+ Hotstar.

House of the Dragon character posters