SDCC 2022: 'House of the Dragon' will roar onto HBO with 17 (!) dragons

The cast of HBO’s Game of Thrones spinoff, House of the Dragon, was out in full force at San Diego Comic-Con today. 

In addition to co-creators George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal taking part in the event (fellow co-creator Miguel Sapochnik sadly had to miss out due to testing positive for COVID), the panel also boasted a slew of actors on the show including Paddy Considine (“King Viserys Targaryen”), Matt Smith (“Prince Daemon Targaryen”), Olivia Cooke (“Alicent Hightower”), Emma D’Arcy (“Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen”), Steve Toussaint (“Lord Corlys Velaryon”), Eve Best (“Princess Rhaenys Targaryen”), Fabien Frankel (“Ser Criston Cole”), Graham McTavish (“Ser Harrold Westerling”), Milly Alcock (“Young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen”), and Emily Carey (“Young Alicent Hightower”).

That’s a lot of Targaryens!

The high number of Targaryens isn’t surprising, however, given the show —  which takes place 200 years before the first season of Game of Thrones — follows the story of the aforementioned family (which later boasts GoT’s Daenerys Stormborn as a member) that has a close connection to dragons. And as expected, there's a whole lot of drama (and murder) going on just within their familial walls.

During the panel attended by SYFY WIRE, we also got confirmation that the show will have several dragons as well. “There are 17 of them,” Condal told the Hall H crowd. 

That’s a lot of dragons!

Condal and Sapochnik worked hard to differentiate the phalanx of dragons the show will bring to the small screen, and started iterating on the dragons’ looks a year before shooting. 

“We’ve designed dragons you won’t even see in Season 1,” Condal added. “There’s much to come and I think you guys will like it a lot.”

Martin, the creator of the Game of Thrones universe and author of Fire & Blood, the book the show is based on, has called House of the Dragon “dark” and “visceral” and also admitted that the show is actually better than his source material, which is no small praise. 

Martin repeated his praise for the show during the Comic-Con panel. “I’ve seen nine of the 10 episodes and it’s pretty amazing. I’m really very happy,” he said. 

House of the Dragon premieres on HBO and HBO Max on Sunday, Aug. 21.

Click here for SYFY WIRE’s full coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2022.

Looking for more fantasy adventures? Stream the entire eight-film Harry Potter saga on Peacock.