When Will We See House Of The Dragon Season 3?

House of the Dragon season 2 is fast-approaching its finale – but we don’t want it to end. So will there be a House of the Dragon season 3? And when can we expect to see it? We’ve got all the details.

House Of The Dragon Season 3: Plot, Cast, Release Date

Olivia Cooke as Queen / Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower & Emma D’Arcy as Princess / Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (© HBO)

Has House Of The Dragon Been Renewed For Season 3?

Yes, House of the Dragon was officially renewed for season 3 just before season 2 kicked off on 16 June 2024.

‘George [R. R. Martin], Ryan [Condal] and the rest of our incredible executive producers, cast, and crew, have reached new heights with the phenomenal second season of House of the Dragon,’ said Francesca Orsi (Executive VP of HBO Programming and Head of HBO Drama) on the news. ‘We are in awe of the dragon-sized effort the entire team has put into the creation of a spectacular season two, with a scope and scale that is only rivaled by its heart. We could not be more thrilled to continue the story of House Targaryen and watch this team burn bright again for season three.’

What Will Happen?

House of the Dragon season 3 will continue to chronicle the events leading to the Targaryen dynasty’s ultimate downfall, beginning with The Battle of the Gullet, the huge war everyone is marching off towards. With new dragons and dragon riders now under her control, you might have guessed that Rhaenyra is about to successfully storm and take King’s Landing – but when she attempts to seize and kill Aegon (as agreed to by Alicent in the finale), she will discover he has been smuggled out of King’s Landing by Larys Strong. And we will leave it there to avoid any further spoilers.

Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole (© HBO)

How Many Episodes?

House of the Dragon season 1 had 10 episodes, season 2 had eight, so what about season 3? ‘I haven’t had discussions with HBO about it,’ showrunner and co-creator Ryan Condal recently said. ‘I would just anticipate the cadence of the show, from a dramatic storytelling perspective, will continue to be the same from Season 2 on.’

Who Will Star?

After the season 2 finale ended with the moments before a huge battle as opposed to the battle itself, we expect all of the core cast to return, including:

• Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen
• Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower
• Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen
• Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower
• Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon
• Fabien Frankel as Criston Cole
• Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen
• Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon Targaryen
• Harry Collett as Jacaerys/Jace Velaryon

Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon II Targaryen (© HBO)

Is House Of The Dragon Based On A Book?

House of the Dragon is based on some of the material in Fire & Blood (2018) by George R. R. Martin, which chronicles the history of House Targaryen – and its ultimate downfall. In Game of Thrones – which is based on Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series – we know House Targaryen once ruled the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, hence why Daenerys vies for the crown from afar over the Narrow Sea in Essos.

When Martin penned The World of Ice & Fire (2014) – a companion ‘history’ book to A Song of Ice and Fire (1996–present), revealing untold tales and truths spanning from the prehistoric Dawn Age to just before the events of A Game of Thrones (1996) – more than 200,000 words were cut, forming the early draft of Fire & Blood. Less of a novel than a scholarly history, Fire & Blood is written by a historian (and unreliable narrator) within the world called Archmaester Gyldayn. Gyldayn, like all historians, draws from a variety of primary sources to chronicle the historical events, with accounts often conflicting one another.

The events of the TV adaptation, then, didn’t all necessarily happen in the universe. Plus, House of the Dragon skipped some of the Targaryen’s early days as seen in Fire & Blood, including:

• Aegon’s Conquest, which traces Aegon I Targaryen’s conquest of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros
• Reign of the Dragon & Three Heads had the Dragon, which chronicle Aegon I’s reign
• The Sons of the Dragon, focussing on the lives of Aegon I’s sons, King Aenys I Targaryen and King Maegor I Targaryen, ending with Maegor’s death and the ascension of Aenys’s son Jaehaerys I Targaryen to the throne
• Seven texts chronicling Jaehaerys’ long reign
• Heirs of the Dragon, detailing the crisis of succession when both of Jaehaerys’ sons die, which ultimately leads to Viserys I Tarygaryen becoming king, which we briefly see in House of the Dragon season 1.

The reign of House Targaryen begins. (Season 1, © HBO)

Has House Of The Dragon Been Renewed For Season 4?

Yes, House of the Dragon has officially been renewed for season 4. Read all about it here.

Release Date

No news just yet on when we can expect to see House of the Dragon season 3. Indeed, showrunner and co-creator Ryan Condal revealed on 4 August 2024 that season 3 is currently being written with the plan to go into production in ‘earlyish 2025’. ‘I know everybody wants this to come out every summer,’ Condal said. ‘It’s just that the show is so complex that we’re really making multiple feature films every season. So I apologize for the wait, but I will just say if Rook’s Rest and the Red Sowing are any indication, we’re gonna pull off a hell of a win with the Battle the Gullet in the future.’

Based on season 1 commencing in August 2022 and season 2 airing from June 2024, we anticipate a summer 2026 release date.

WATCH

All episodes of House of the Dragon are streaming on NOW.