House of the Dragon is off to a solid start that’s really pleasing the fans, but a bombshell was dropped last week when a huge departure was announced.
In a statement, co-showrunner and director Miguel Sapochnik revealed that he would stepping away from the series at the end of the first season.
Many fans of the series were saddened by the news, but it seems that it also came as a big surprise to one of the show’s stars, Steve Toussaint.
Toussaint, who plays the Sea Snake, Corlys Velaryon, on the Game of Thrones prequel series has spoken out about his reaction to finding out.
‘We have this English phrase: gutted,’ he said. ‘I got a call from Robert Oliver Ryan Condal one night, just saying, “Listen, [Miguel’s exit] is about to break.”‘
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly’s West of Westeros podcast, he continued: ‘It was Miguel’s decision [but] I was disappointed.’
Steve then gave listeners details about just how heavily involved Miguel was with the overall process of bringing House of the Dragon to our screens.
‘It was full-on with him because he was constant. He had to direct and do his own bits, obviously his own episodes. And then he has to overlook the whole thing.’
Sapochnik became a popular name amongst the Game of Thrones fandom after directing classic episodes such as Hardhome, Battle of the Bastards and The Winds of Winter.
In his exit statement, Sapochnik said: ‘Working within the Thrones universe for the past few years has been an honour and a privilege, especially spending the last two with the amazing cast and crew of House of the Dragon.’
‘I am so proud of what we accomplished with season one and overjoyed by the enthusiastic reaction of our viewers. It was incredibly tough to decide to move on, but I know that it is the right choice for me.’
Before House of the Dragon began, Sapochnik’s co-showrunner Ryan Condal explained that the Game of Thrones veteran was initially reluctant to join his prequel.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Condal went through the details of one of the pair’s very first conversations.
‘Miguel [initially] said, “I’m never doing Thrones again”,’ Condal said. But Sapochnik was convinced to return, if only for the first season.
House of The Dragon is available to stream on NOW.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
