A new trailer for Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon has been released, which shows the various houses pledging allegiance to the Targaryens, and at last – the titular dragon. It also sets the scene for an epic battle between the Targeryen siblings. The big-budget series starts on HBO on August 21, which is two weeks before the Lord of the Rings spin-off The Rings of Power starts on Amazon Prime. Let battle commence.
The trailer begins with Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) saying; “What is this brief, mortal life if not the pursuit of legacy?” We see a large dragon flying to a castle with a high tower. We then see the houses of Stark, Velaryon, and Baratheon promising to be faithful to King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine).
More importantly, they pledge allegiance to his named heir – his daughter Princess Rhaenyra (played by Milly Alcock for most of the trailer, apart from a couple of brief shots of her when she’s older and played by Emma D’Arcy). Rhaenys Velaryon (Eve Best) says; “Men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend the iron throne.”
Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) says; “We play an ugly game. You have the determination to win it,” to his daughter Alicent (Olivia Cooke). It is also Corlys Velaryon who ends the trailer, by saying; “History does not remember blood. It remembers names,” over a cool shot of a fire-breathing dragon.
Surprisingly, the person who has so far been marketed as the star of the series – Matt Smith, who plays Rhaenyra’s brother and rival Daemon – doesn’t speak during the trailer. We do see a couple of shots of him – in one he holds a dragon’s egg, and in another he brandishes a sword. The final shots are of him holding a flaming torch in front of the fire-breathing dragon.
You can watch the new trailer from HBO below;
While we wait until August, see if you agree with our guide to the best Game of Thrones characters, ranked.