House of The Dragon showrunner explains why the Velaryons are of a different color than the books

Game of Thrones prequel House of The Dragon is right around the corner, and is one of the most anticipated shows of 2022. Even though the show looks promising and HBO is quite confident of its success when it arrives, there are several concerns that fans have raised over the months during its production, one of them being the change in the physical appearance of the Velaryons.

According to George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, the Velaryons were an offshoot clan of the Targaryens, i.e., they descended from the dragonlords of Valyria. They followed the Targaryens to Westeros as their loyal companions, and many of them have been dragonriders. Hence, it makes sense for them to be resembling more closely to Targaryens.

However, as we already know from the teasers and the photos that have been released, the Velaryons have been given a slightly different look in the show. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Ryan Condal explains why they decided to go that way:

“The world is very different now than it was 10 years ago when [Game of Thrones] all started. It’s different than 20 years ago when Peter Jackson made The Lord of the Rings. These types of stories need to be more inclusive than they traditionally have been.”

“It was very important for Miguel and I to create a show that was not another bunch of white people on the screen, just to put it very bluntly.”

Condal continued, “I’ve seen people that look like myself on screen in these types of high-fantasy stories since I was born because I’m a white guy. What’s it like for everybody else? … We went back and just looked at the story and said, ‘How do we do this in a way that can feel like it’s done integrally with the story?’”

Do you agree with the showrunners’ views about people of color in Westeros? Tell us in the comments below!