The second season of House of the Dragon is scheduled to premiere in the summer of 2024, with much anticipation among fans. The precursor to Game of Thrones is based on a civil war, Dance of the Dragons, in George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire and Blood.” It introduces us to a number of new characters from Westeros’ past. However, Martin’s Fire and Blood doesn’t just end after the Dance of the Dragons, it goes way beyond.
George R. R. Martin discusses the future of House of the Dragon
Naming a TV show is a complex process, and it should reflect the central idea of the storyline. Game of Thrones revolved around the Iron Throne, and it ended with it. While explaining the idea behind ‘House of the Dragon’, Martin said in the Bangcast podcast,
“House of the Dragon, the prequel show, is based on a part of Targaryen history called the Dance of the Dragons. So they could have called it the Dance of the Dragons, but for whatever reason they decided not to. [They called it] House of the Dragon instead. Which is a good title. It means when the Dance is over we can continue the story.”
Can House of the Dragon extend beyond the Dance of the Dragons?
George R. R. Martin’s Fire and Blood is a historical anecdote, the civil war Dance of the Dragons is a small storyline from the book. There might be a reason why the HBO execs chose to name the show ‘House of the Dragon’, which corresponds to the Targaryen family as opposed to the ‘Dance of the Dragons’ or Fire and Blood itself.
They can go beyond the rule of Aegon III all the way to the Blackfyre rebellions, and if they really want, right to the beginning of Game of Thrones, where a much more fit Robert Baratheon rebels against The Mad King and sits on the Iron Throne.
However, the possibility of franchise fatigue remains in that case, as we have seen with the recent films of the MCU or the situation with The Walking Dead and its spinoffs. Ryan Condal and the team need to be wary of that, and not milk the cow till it’s dead.
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