HBO releases first gorgeous images from Game of Thrones prequel

For about a week now, we’ve been getting little glimpses behind the scenes of HBO’s upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon, about a Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons that tore Westeros apart over 100 years before the original series. The photos have been discreet, snapped from far off as the actors filmed scenes on a beach in Cornwall, England. But HBO has decided to get ahead of all those shutterbugs and just release some high-quality glossy images itself. And honestly, good for it; control that narrative.

First up, we have stars Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy as Daemon and Rhaenyra Targaryen, two key figures from this drama:

Daemon is the younger brother of King Viserys I Targaryen, while Rhaenyra is his daughter. That makes them uncle and niece, and yes, they do eventually start a relationship, because this is the Game of Thrones universe and that kind of thing happens.

Matt Smith and other House of the Dragon stars suit up for Game of Thrones prequel

Rhaenyra is the chosen heir of her father, and fully expects to be queen when he dies. But she has a rival in the form of her dad’s second wife Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) and her father Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), the Hand of the King. They would prefer that Alicent’s first son by the king, Aegon Targaryen, take the Iron Throne when King Viserys passes. Here’s what they look like:

We don’t yet know who’s playing Aegon, although we assume he’ll be showing up sooner or later given how important he is to the plot. Given that the show seems to be starting fairly early in the timeline of the Dance, it’s possible he’ll be played by a child actor during the first season, and we have seen some kids with bleached-blonde Targaryen hair running around the set.

Anyway, both claimants to the Iron Throne will have allies. One of the most prominent on Rhaenyra’s side is Corlys Velaryon, the head of an ancient house with a powerful navy. He’s played by Steve Toussaint:

And there are lots more characters where that came from. Like Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon has a large cast. As for what the actors are doing in this scene, we suspect they may be at the funeral for Corlys’ daughter Leana Velaryon, who was married to Daemon and a good friend to Rhaenyra. That’s just our guess, though. It’s also possible some of the cast members were brought in for the photo opportunity.

What do you make of the first official looks of the House of the Dragon cast in full costume? The first season of the show is due out on HBO in 2022.

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