New House of the Dragon trailer teases scheming, dragons, and Targaryens at war

HBO has released the first trailer for House of the Dragon, the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel set two centuries before the main series' events.

House of the Dragon follows the rise and fall of the House of Targaryen as they fight in an epic war known as the Dance of Dragons. Matt Smith stars as Prince Daemon Targaryen, a fearless warrior and dragon rider, as well as the heir to the throne, who takes center stage in the new trailer. He's betrothed to Emma D'Arcy's Rhaenyra, soon to become Princess Targaryen, who stands before the Iron Throne.

Also in the trailer, we see Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen giving some advice to Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower. "We play an ugly game," he says. "And you have the determination to win it."

The ten-episode prequel series is based on George R.R. Martin's novel Fire & Blood – and the author himself is already a huge fan. "I have seen rough cuts of a few of them, and I'm loving them," Martin said on his blog. "[T]he writing, the directing, the acting all look terrific. I hope you will like them as much as I do. My hat is off to [showrunner Ryan Condal] and [co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik] and their team, and to our amazing cast."

House of the Dragon will premiere August 21 on HBO and HBO Max, and make its UK debut on August 22 on Sky and Sky NOW. For more, check out our list of the best new TV shows coming in 2022 and beyond.

Lauren Milici
Senior Writer, Tv & Film

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for 12DOVE currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.

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