House of the Dragon‘s second season may have not lit the proverbial dragonfire quite like its debut did, between its muted ending and its truncated runtime–and a bit of a public tiff between A Song of Ice and Fire architect George R.R. Martin and HBO probably didn’t help perception of the future of Game of Thrones on TV much either. But as we prepare to venture into another spinoff this year, the studio is already looking to the horizon with plenty of plans for more Westeros on our screens than ever before.
Speaking to Deadline, HBO Head of Drama Series and Films Francesca Orsi provided a slew of updates about just what to expect from House of the Dragon, this year’s Dunk & Egg adaptation A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and the Game of Thrones‘ franchise’ future beyond either of them at the network. The first point of order? Promising fans that found themselves less-than-enthused about House of the Dragon‘s pacing in its sophomore season that things will hit the ground running in action-packed form when it returns in 2026.
“I think you’re going to be in for a great surprise on how we start the [season] with an exciting battle… You know what, it was worth the wait,” Orsi teased. “I was just on set and saw all the elements and what was behind it. I’m so glad we waited because it’s going to be better than ever, and I don’t think we had the time at that point to do what it is that we’ve achieved now this season.”
That battle, the infamous Battle of the Gullet–a clash between the forces of the Blacks and Greens that resulted in one of the bloodiest naval conflicts in Westerosi history, with huge ramifications for both sides of the Dance of Dragons–was originally intended to form part of the climax to House of the Dragon‘s second season, before production demands, impacted by the Hollywood strikes in 2023, necessitated cutting two episodes from the show’s run. Now, it’ll seemingly kick of season 3 as one of the most significant action sequences described by Martin in Fire and Blood.
But before we get there, this summer we’ll have the debut of the second Game of Thrones spinoff in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a take on Martin’s novella series about the knight Ser Duncan the Tall, and his squire Aegon V “Egg” Targaryen. While Martin had a less-than-effusive view of House of the Dragon‘s choices in adaptation for season 2, leading to drama between himself, Dragon‘s producers, and HBO execs worthy of being gossiped about in the hallways of the Red Keep, the writer has been much more favorable in his estimation of Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
That’s probably made all the more welcome to HBO’s ears considering Martin has long made it clear that Dunk & Egg is one of his favourite parts of A Song of Ice and Fire, and had been pushing for a series for years in the wake of Game of Thrones‘ massive success. Especially so that, according to Orsi, HBO itself is just as bullish on the show: after the six-episode miniseries debuts this summer, the network is considering filming a second and third season back-to-back, adapting all three of Martin’s novellas in the series.
But with Knight of the Seven Kingdom‘s future seemingly secured and House of the Dragon set to end after four seasons, what’s next for the Game of Thrones universe? Right now it’s been kind of a mess beyond the certainty provided by Dragon and Knight. HBO’s been rumored to be working on as many potential future spinoffs as it has been similarly rumored to have ultimately scrapped them: a Game of Thrones movie? Maybe. Costly scrappings of prequels about Westeros’ ancient past and legendary figures like the warrior princess Nymeria? Definitely. A Jon Snow sequel series? We know nothing, mostly because that one’s dead too. But Orsi did tease that while HBO still has “several” Thrones projects in the works, its primary focus is on another we’ve been hearing about for a while.
“We have other spinoffs that we’re working on right now, one of which–which I won’t get into–is very promising, and it is still the Targaryen line,” Orsi teased to Deadline, seemingly suggesting that the promising show is the one previously rumored to be about Aegon the Conqueror, the famous Targaryen who brought the family to Westeros’ shores after the destruction of their homeland Valyria, uniting rule of the Seven Kingdoms as we would largely come to know it. Interestingly, however, Orsi also contrasted this prequel to other potential spinoffs as being “the most intimate one” of HBO’s potential plans, with other unmentioned series leaning towards a grander scale in terms of budget.
A “most intimate” series doesn’t quite sound like a retelling of Aegon’s conquest, a years-long war against an entire continent, unless the network is interested in having the same kind of fandom complaints as it as faced with House of the Dragon‘s handling of Dragon-on-Dragon action thus far. Could there somehow be yet another Targaryen-focused tale in the works? Can HBO sustain itself almost entirely on a TV diet of incestuous royals in platinum blonde wigs? Time will tell–but before we get there, we’ve got plenty other songs of Ice and Fire to get through regardless.