Remember when new seasons of a TV series were released at the same time every year? Those were the days, but as we wait for news on The Last of Us season 3, it looks like three seasons over six years is as good as it's going to get for House of the Dragon.
Plans for the Game of Thrones prequel have been shared by Casey Bloys, the chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, and he confirmed that a June 2026 launch is likely.
"I think it’ll be just outside of [the 2026 Emmy eligibility window]," the executive confirmed (via SFFGazette.com), referring to the May 31, 2026, cutoff. However, we can expect another Game of Thrones prequel to air before House of the Dragon returns, as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is scheduled for a January 2026 debut after previously being slated for this year.
In A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros. A young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg.
Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.
House of the Dragon is expected to end with its fourth season, and based on past experience, a 2028 premiere for that seems most likely right now.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly earlier this year, House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal said, "This is certainly our biggest season to date, both in terms of ambition and just the practical size, the amount of sets."
"We're cresting that narrative parabola here and starting to come down into, if not the endgame, the midpoint and getting into the late Act 2 and moving onto the start of Act 3. Anybody that's read that book knows that the narrative gets bigger and grimmer as it goes along, and the show has to match that ambition as best it possibly can."
Teasing the Dance of Dragons, Condal added, "I will say that the war this season goes very hot, very, very quickly. I think the people that were waiting and waiting for all of the horrible, brutal, pitiless bloodshed will be getting it in copious amounts."
Based on George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood, the series, set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, tells the story of House Targaryen.
Retunring cast members for season 3 include Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint, Rhys Ifans, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, Matthew Needham, Tom Bennett, Kieran Bew, Kurt Egyiawan, Freddie Fox, Clinton Liberty, Gayle Rankin, and Abubakar Salim.
New additions include Tommy Flanagan as Lord Roderick Dustin, Dan Fogler as Ser Torrhen Manderly, and James Norton as Ormund Hightower.
Stay tuned for updates on House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.