House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal reveals there will be FIVE NEW DRAGONS in Season 2

Fans of HBO’s House of the Dragon who were hoping for more dragons will be very happy with what showrunner Ryan Condal had to say on Tuesday.

The 43-year-old writer, who co-created the series with Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, revealed during a FYC screening in Los Angeles there will be five new dragons introduced in Season 2.

HBO renewed House of the Dragon for a second season back in August, just days after the series debuted.

Condal was joined by a number of cast members at the event, held at the Directors Guild of America on Tuesday, including Rhys Ifans (Otto Hightower), Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen), Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon), Fabien Frankel (Criston Cole), Matt Smith (Daemon Targaryen), Olivia Cooke (Alicent Hightower), Paddy Considine (King Viserys Targaryen) and Emily Carey (young Alicent Hightower).

‘You’re going to meet five new dragons,’ Condal revealed during the Q&A session, adding that production on Season 2 will begin, ‘very shortly.’ 

More: Fans of HBO’s House of the Dragon who were hoping for more dragons will be very happy with what showrunner Ryan Condal had to say on Tuesday

Dragon time: The 43-year-old writer, who co-created the series with Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, revealed during a FYC screening in Los Angeles there will be five new dragons introduced in Season 2

The event featured a screening of the eighth episode of the first season, entitled The Lord of the Tides, which author Martin said was, ‘a favorite of mine.’

‘This guy [Condal] has an amazing writing staff. Because if you read my book Fire & Blood, which you should, it’s a fake history,’ Martin said, referencing the book that House of the Dragon is adapted from. 

‘So there are a lot of the details that are in this that are absolutely wonderful and moving that are not in the book. They added stuff, and they added good stuff, which is important,’ Martin added.

Martin was also asked about the pressure on a series that is a prequel to the beloved Game of Thrones, joking that the pressure on him to finish his novel series is even greater.

‘The pressure of trying to follow the original series is nothing compared to the pressure of trying to finish the novel. That has me sleepless at nights. The show? That’s Ryan’s problem,’ Martin joked.

Martin has written five of his planned seven books in his A Song of Ice and Fire novel series… though the last book, A Dance With Dragons, was published nearly 12 years ago, with no timetable for the sixth book, The Winds of Winter, or the seventh and final book, A Dream of Springs, revealed quite yet.

Paddy Considine, who played the ailing King Viserys Targaryen, opened up about his iconic walk to the Iron Throne in the eighth episode, while fighting for his life.

‘He’s been bandaged and you see his emaciated body and the amount of pain he was in. It just made me rethink that walk to the Throne because he’s in such a terrible state,’ Considine said.

Author: The event featured a screening of the eighth episode of the first season, entitled The Lord of the Tides, which author Martin said was, ‘a favorite of mine’

Details: ‘So there are a lot of the details that are in this that are absolutely wonderful and moving that are not in the book. They added stuff, and they added good stuff, which is important,’ Martin added

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‘I thought, “That’s going to be some monumental walk through the Red Keep to the Throne.” So when I came to shoot, [I thought], “I’m going to really take my time, I’m going to really struggle and make these people wait,”‘ he said.

Olivia Cooke also cleared up a rumor that she was kept apart from the actress who played the younger version of her character Alicent Hightower, Emily Carey, though Carey admitted, ‘Yeah, we didn’t speak.’

‘Right. There’s a nasty little rumor actually that I want to clear up that we were, like, forcibly kept apart,’ Cooke said, adding it was untrue.

When asked about their favorite moments from the first season, Fabien Frankel (Ser Criston Cole) said there was a lot of humor on the set. 

‘To be honest, we are a set of gigglers. It just took like a glint in someone’s eye to sort of set everyone off,’ Frankel said. 

‘So anyway, yeah, there was a lot of laughter for such a serious show,’ he added.

House of the Dragon is set hundreds of years before the events of Game of Thrones, following the reign of House Targaryen.

HBO hasn’t revealed when Season 2 will debut quite yet, though it seems likely it won’t arrive until 2024. 

King: ‘I thought, “That’s going to be some monumental walk through the Red Keep to the Throne.” So when I came to shoot, [I thought], “I’m going to really take my time, I’m going to really struggle and make these people wait,”‘ he said

Rumor: ‘Right. There’s a nasty little rumor actually that I want to clear up that we were, like, forcibly kept apart,’ Cooke said, adding it was untrue

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