HBO released earlier this week the official trailer for House of the Dragon season 2, the eight-episode continuation of the highly successful first season that premiered in 2022. The new episodes will start airing on the network and simultaneously on Max on June 16.
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Here is the official trailer:
The Cast and Crew Preview a Blown-Out War In House of the Dragon Season 2
It’s an all-out war in the new season between Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), as seen in the trailer and as Ryan Condal explained to Entertainment Weekly in their online cover story:
“Season 2 is the march to war. It’s really a cold war because each side is trying to undeniably win the throne for themselves without going to all-out dragon war. We do that through plotting and backstabbing and assassination and spy games and all the things that you would see in a classic James Bond Cold War thriller.”
Ryan Condal, showrunner and co-creator of ‘House of the Dragon’
Series writer Sara Hess reaffirmed that these two characters will still be the focus of the show, even though the story is getting into sections of the fictional history book Fire and Blood that mention them less and less. Here’s how Hess explained it:
“There’s so many ways that women are written out or just ignored in the historical record. Obviously, Fire and Blood is a fictional thing, but if you bring that same thought process to it… that was very interesting to me.”
“It’s a benefit and a hardship, in that there’s not as much roadmap there. We had to flesh out all of those things, but I think it is a benefit in that we’re not going against anything that’s in the book. It’s not that it’s saying Alicent did this and we’re having her do something else, it’s that she disappears from the narrative. It’s really interesting to think about because women do disappear from historical narratives.”
Sara Hess, writer on ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2
The “all-out war” feeling will get to Rhaenyra’s bones, as the Targaryen Queen is growing more and more volatile:
“One of chosen moderation and one of fire and volatility. I certainly think that Rhaenyra is somewhat unleashed this season and is able to have more fluidity between those poles. In season 1, for reasons of her position, she was constantly moderating her desire. This season really investigates rage and maybe in particular a woman’s rage.”
Emma D’Arcy (Rhaenyra Targaryen)
Those supporting her claim to the Iron Throne are nicknamed “The Blacks”, while those supporting her half-brother Aegon, son of Alicent, are “The Greens”. And the conflict between them was forever changed in the season 1 finale when Aegon’s brother killed Rhaenyra’s son Lucerys “Luke” Velaryon (Elliot Grihault). Season 2 picks up 10 days after that, and will find Rhaenyra in grief, which will soon turn into pain and anger:
“Rhaenyra is a person devastated. She’s rigid with grief. Grief can be a really dislocating force. It can separate us from our family, from our friends, from our allies, almost as if the bereft person remains with the dead. And, of course, she’s going to have to find some way of traveling back to the world of the living in order to fight for her inheritance.”
Emma D’Arcy (Rhaenyra Targaryen)
Matt Smith returns in Season 2 of House of the Dragon as the eccentric and volatile Prince Daemon Targaryen, and he will begin the season by paying off the setup from the end of Season 1: visiting the castle of House Strong as he hopes to use Harrenhal as base of operations for their forces in the Riverlands.
Tom Taylor also joins the cast of Season 2 as Cregan Stark, Lord of Winterfell. On the other side of the battlefield, Olivia Cooke’s Alicent Hightower has the upper hand at the beginning, but she definitely
“Who can she trust? There’s no one around her. Everyone, it seems, has been spying on her. It’s this sense of peak paranoia within her own home. That had to really permeate throughout my performance. All of a sudden she’s of no use to anyone. She’s done what she was supposed to do — put her son on the throne — and now she’s discarded. Who is she if she can’t be the person to implement wisdom?”
Olivia Cooke (Alicent Hightower)
Their children will also be featured more prominently, as seen in the trailer and confirmed by EW. Condal wanted to bring them to the forefront, and the actors stepped up to the task.
But what about the future of House of the Dragon? A third season has been planned, and Hess confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that they were deep into writing it earlier this year. But HBO has yet to give it a green light, which will likely happen after season 2 starts airing and once Condal and his team have their writing in order.
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But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. For now, we have one more month to go before Season 2 of House of the Dragon, and you can raise those excitement levels by checking out this behind-the-scenes video that was also posted recently:
House of the Dragon Season 2 debuts on June 16. The first season is available to stream now on Max. Warner Bros. Discovery and HBO have also greenlit another Game of Thrones spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which is currently in the works.
About House of the Dragon Season 2
Premiere Date: June 16, 2024
Episodes: 8 episodes x 1 hour
Executive Producer / Showrunner: Ryan Condal
Executive Producers: George R.R. Martin, Ryan Condal, Sara Hess, Alan Taylor, Melissa Bernstein, Kevin de la Noy, Loni Peristere, Vince Gerardis
Production: HBO Entertainment, 1:26 Pictures Inc., Bastard Sword
Network: HBO
Returning Season 1 Cast: Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, Rhys Ifans, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, and Matthew Needham.
Season 2 Cast Additions: Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull, Jamie Kenna as Ser Alfred Broome, Kieran Bew as Hugh, Tom Bennett as Ulf, Tom Taylor as Lord Cregan Stark, and Vincent Regan as Ser Rickard Thorne, Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull, Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers, Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayne Hightower, and Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong.
Synopsis: Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. As each side believes theirs to be the rightful seat on the Iron Throne, the Green and Black trailers reflect those two perspectives in separate yet complementary halves of the same story. For global audiences, “All Must Choose” their side of House Targaryen as the realm fractures in season two.
What do you think about the new trailer for House of the Dragon season 2? What do you make of that Entertainment Weekly interview? How much are you looking forward to it? Let us know your thoughts on our Twitter and also via our Discord server!
SOURCE: HBO, Entertainment Weekly
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