Dragons are the kingmakers in first trailer for HBO Max's Game of Thrones prequel 'House of the Dragon'

Game of Thrones fans rejoice: the Long Night is over and it's finally time to return to Westeros in the first trailer for House of the Dragon. The teaser was unveiled as part of HBO Max's wide launch in Europe Tuesday.

Set 200 years before Robert's Rebellion, the spin-off prequel (based on George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood) is all about the fiery Targaryen clan. The footage certainly evokes the action, style, and emotion of the flagship series — just with a whole lot more dragons to go around. The Iron Throne even makes an appearance, just to get the point across.

In addition to the footage, the series announced several more cast members: Wil Johnson (Ser Vaemond Velaryon, younger brother to Coryls Velaryon and commander in the Velaryon navy); John Macmillan (Ser Laenor Velaryon, son of Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen); Savannah Steyn (Lady Laena Velayron, daughter of Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen); and Theo Nate (Ser Laenor Velaryon, son of Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen).

The main players include: Emma D’Arcy (Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen), Steve Toussaint (Lord Corlys Velaryon, aka the "Sea Snake"), Paddy Considine (King Viserys Targaryen), Matt Smith (Prince Daemon Targaryen), Olivia Cooke (Alicent Hightower), Rhys Ifans (Otto Hightower).

Check out the teaser below:

"What's amazing about Game of Thrones, like we saw in the past series, is that one season, you hate a character, and the next, you absolutely love them and will go to the ends of the earth for them," Cooke explained to Collider over the summer. "You just don't know what you're gonna get with these characters. They're so well-written. Such is the human condition, you can do some horrendous things, but then you can also do some wonderful things as well. It's very complex, and it's not black and white at all."

Co-created and executive produced by Martin and Ryan Condal, the show is being run by Condal and Miguel Sapochnik. The latter — who helmed six high-profile episodes of Thrones — serves as an executive producer and directed the pilot along with several more installments. Vince Gerardis, Ron Schmid, and Sara Hess (a writer as well) are also executive producers. Clare Kilner, Geeta V. Patel, and Greg Yaitanes (a co-executive producer) round out the directing crew.

Production on the show kicked off back in April with a number of stills from the first table read among the cast members. Filming was forced to briefly shut down in July, however, when a crew member tested positive for COVID-19.

House of the Dragon hits HBO and HBO Max sometime in 2022.