HBO is currently at work on a Game of Thrones prequel show: House of the Dragon, based on events detailed in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood books, which cover the history of House Targaryen, from Aegon’s conquest of the Seven Kingdoms to the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons and beyond.
Most likely, the show will focus on the Dance, it being the bloodiest and most action-packed part of the saga. That means House of the Dragon will be set roughly 150-ish years before the events of the main series.
Obviously, that means that the characters we know won’t be around…except maybe one. While the likes of Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister won’t be born for centuries, Melisandre, the Red Priestess of R’hllor, could technically show up. As we learned on Game of Thrones, she prolonged her life with the use of a magical amulet she finally removed before expiring in “The Long Night.”
Carice van Houten, who played Melisandre, talked to Entertainment Weekly about the possibility of appearing on the new show. “Well, it would really depend on the storyline,” she said. “I would be interested if we could see a completely different side to her. It would have to be interesting perspective that we haven’t seen before. Otherwise, I feel like I’ve closed it off in a natural way — which is also a good thing.”
At the time of the Dance, Melisandre may only be a spry 250 years old or so. We could see her in her…youth.
There isn’t any mention of Melisandre in Fire & Blood, but the religion of R’hllor has been around for a long while, although it’s mostly popular on Essos, not Westeros. Still, Melisandre is nothing if not unpredictable, so it’s not impossible for her to show up, intone something mysterious about an important character, maybe birth a shadow baby or two, and then show herself out.
Anyway, if Melisandre shows up in House of the Dragon, Van Houten would like to suggest an alternate color for her dress. “Yes, maybe she had a blue period.”
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