In the summer of 2024, the "Dance of the Dragons" began with the release of "House of the Dragon" Season 2. (The "Game of Thrones" spinoff ended with a anticlimactic Season 2 finale that, after more than two months on the air, concluded an installment that served as the second prelude to the epic Targaryen Civil War. Indeed, the war between House Green and House Black has officially begun, and the first major battle at Rook's Rest ended with the death of one protagonist and the mutilation of another. But HotD has so far spent more time setting the stage than actually showing the epic conflict.

Luckily for bloodthirsty fans, that will all change in Season 3 of "House of Dragons." Season 3 was confirmed by HBO to air just days before Season 2 aired.

"The House of Dragons" Season 3 is expected to hit screens in at least 2026. This would follow the pattern of the previous two films, which premiered on HBO in August 2022 and June 2024, respectively; despite the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes that temporarily interrupted most of Hollywood, "HotD," being a British series, was able to continue shooting without delay. could continue filming without delay. So it will officially take two years to deliver another episode full of Targaryens.

Although the release date is still a ways off, production on Season 3 has already begun; in May 2024, showrunner Ryan Condal told Entertainment Weekly that the show's team is already "deep into" writing Season 3 should HBO renew it. According to Variety, Kondal revealed at a press conference following the Season 2 finale that cameras would begin rolling on new episodes in early 2025.

After the Season 2 finale, showrunner Ryan Condal announced some surprising news about "House of Dragons" at a virtual press conference. In response to speculation about how long the series would run, Kondal revealed that "House of the Dragon" would end after season 4, and that the spinoff would be half the length of the previous "Game of Thrones," which ran for eight seasons. (Though given how contentious GoT's final season is, this may be a blessing in disguise.)

"I think it's four," Kondal said of the series' length, before noting that overall plans for the rest of the show were mapped out after the first season, according to THR. He also said that season 3 will likely consist of eight episodes.

Condal had already indicated that "HotD" could end sooner rather than later when he spoke to Entertainment Weekly last May.

"I certainly don't want to rush the end, but I don't want to overstay my welcome either. As you know, this history will continue for another 150 years until Daenerys."

HBO has not yet released the official cast list, but everyone remaining at the end of Season 2 is as follows: the blacks include Matt Smith (Damon Targaryen), Emma Darcy (Rainaila), Steve Toussaint (Corliss Velarion), Harry Collette (Jacaris Targaryen), Bethany Antonia (Baella Targaryen), Phoebe Campbell (Raina Targaryen), Sonoya Mizuno (Mysalia), and Tom Taylor (Cregan Stark). Meanwhile, the Greens are Olivia Cook (Alicent Hightower), Fabian Frankel (Sir Christon Cole), Matthew Needham (Laris Strong), Tom Glynn-Kearney (Aegon Targaryen), Ewan Mitchell (Aemon Targaryen), Fia Saban (Helena Targaryen), Jefferson Hall (Tyland and Jason Lannister), and Rhys Ifans (Otto Hightower).

New members likely to return for Season 2 include Kieran Vieux (Hugh Hammer), Tom Bennett (Wolf), Clinton Liberty (Aidam of Hull), and Abubakar Salim (Arin of Hull). The rest of the cast will depend on how the series unfolds, but expect Simon Russell Beale (Sir Simon Strong) and Alice Rivers (Gail Rankin) to stop by Harrenhal and return for season 3.

No new casting has been announced (to be fair, it has been less than a week since the Season 2 finale), but the most highly anticipated addition to Season 3 is Daeron Targaryen, Alicent's fourth child, who will join the war effort aboard the cobalt-colored Dragon Thessalon It will be.

House of Dragons Season 2 finale spoilers ahead. The Season 2 finale (which could have been the Season 3 premiere) paved the way for an epic battle for Season 3. With the "sowing" of dragonrider Hugh Hammer, Wolf of White, and Adam of Hull getting their winged nuclei, Queen Renilla officially had the most dragons. Prince Jace is nervous about empowering such a wild card, and readers know he is not wrong to be concerned (although the "hybrid" crap is horrifying); Rhaenyra and Daemon's youngest son board a ship bound for Pentos; Rhaena steals a wild sheep They sneak away to take in the dragons. And in the most mysterious turn of events so far, Daemon has Alice Rivers and Helena (...) are shown a vision of "winter is coming," and with a cameo appearance by Dany, they become the complete team Lenila.

Meanwhile, Prince Regent Aemon is scrambling to realize that blacks have more dragon power. The "Hand of the King" Christon and his army are on the move, but they are useless unless the battle is fought on land. Aymond asks Helena to ride his dragon, but she rebuffs him, wondering if he will burn her as he did Aegon, because she "doesn't want to burn anyone." Alicent forgets all about being "locked in a prison of her own making" and makes plans to escape King's Landing with Helleana, and agrees to Rainila's deal of a son for a son. However, a seriously wounded Aegon (who is about to be killed by both Lenila and Aemon) escapes from King's Landing to Pentos, accompanied by Ralis. Also, unbeknownst to anyone, the Tyrande Lannisters have succeeded in bringing the Triarchy (the pirate army that Daemon and his men fought against early in season 1) to the Greens' side.

Basically, as Ramin Jawadi's epic score suggests, there is a massive battle on the horizon. (Readers of Fire & Blood will have some idea of what awaits: one would think that Corliss would just stand up to the Lannister Navy, but instead the Triple Alliance stands in his way. For those prone to spoilers, there are other battles to be anticipated: the Lenya's plan to attack King's Landing, the Butcher's Ball, the first battle of Tumbleton, and maybe even the battle over God's Eye.

According to THR, Kondal has heard fan criticism of Season 2's anticlimactic finale and promises that these battles, when they arrive, will have a major impact.At a press conference on August 5, the showrunner said the decision to postpone "The Battle of Garret" to Season 3 was made because of how big the show can get, he said.

"One of the things that came out of season two was: 'What is the ultimate destination of the series, where is it going? We're trying to give 'The Gullet,' the second most anticipated action event in Fire and Blood, the time and space it deserves."[12

After the success of "House of Dragons," HBO planned a new spin-off, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," based on three prequel novels set 100 years before "Game of Thrones." (The timeline for the entire Westeros TV show is "HotD" -> "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" -> "GoT"). The new series will portray two fan-favorite characters: Sir Duncan the Tall (a.k.a. Dunk) and his squire Egg (a.k.a. Aegon V Targaryen), as they venture throughout Westeros. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kondal said that the new series is about "the little people who are at the mercy of and suffer from the throne games played by the nobles."

On August 4, 2024, HBO released the first sizzle reel of "Knights of the Seven Kingdoms". The short clip introduced Dunk, played by Peter Claffey, and young Egg, played by Dexter Sol Ansell, and confirmed that the new series will debut in 2025. So, "HotD" fans will be able to enjoy a new chivalric tale until "House of the Dragon" Season 3.