Picking up the mantle of Game of Thrones from David Benioff and DB Weiss was never going to be easy, but that’s the challenge that Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik – somewhat reluctantly – accepted when they agreed to write and direct the prequel House of the Dragon.
Sapochnik had directed some of the most famous Games of Thrones episodes. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the show’s premiere event, he said; “I didn’t immediately warm to the idea of spending any more nights in the freezing cold.”
He also received some advice from his former bosses: “They said, ‘Don’t do it,’ and David didn’t talk to me for six months,” the co-showrunner joked. “No, they were lovely. I had one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in my career working with David and Dan — they were wonderful to me, wonderful friends. No one’s ever going to happy if you start going out with your best mate’s girlfriend, it’s just not going to happen, but they were good.”
Regarding House of the Dragon’s rivalry with Lord of the Rings prequel, The Rings of Power, Condal said; “My hope is that both series work and find a huge fanbase and that there’s a huge overlap in the fanbase.”
He continued; “I think the more big, expensive — really expensive — fantasies that work on television, the better for us fans because they’ll make more of them. I desperately want Rings of Power to work. I’m going to be there watching it the first night it’s available, I will watch all of them.”
House of the Dragon begins on August 21, and The Rings of Power begins on September 2 – so fantasy fans will be feasting. In the meantime, check out our guide to the best fantasy movies.