Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon is finally underway

Game of Thrones fans have a reason to rejoice. The makers of the prequel series, House of the Dragon, revealed its cast and that the production has begun, on Monday.

The announcement was made through their official handle with a tweet, “Fire will reign… The @HBO original series #HouseoftheDragon is officially in production. Coming soon to @HBOMax in 2022.” The makers also shared the first photo of the cast from a script reading session.

The prequel is based on George R R Martin’s novel, Fire & Blood. Martin is also the creator of the series, which focuses on the rise and fall of House Targaryen and will be set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones. House of Dragon’s first season, which will premiere in 2022, will have 10 episodes.

The series has prominent British actors including Modern Love’s Olivia Cooke, The Crown’s Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Paddy Considine, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Rhys Ifans, Sonoya Mizuno and Fabien Frankel.

Emilia Clarke, who played Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, wished everyone good luck in an earlier interview with Entertainment Weekly. “It’s just inevitable. I wish you all the best, it’s gonna be whatever it will be, but of course, they're doing more,” she said, adding that she is confident that the prequel series will be a huge success.

Clarke, meanwhile, has joined the star cast of Marvel’s upcoming series Secret Invasion, which is also expected to premiere in 2022 on Disney+ Hotstar.