The proprietors of the Game of Owns podcast recently got to talk to David J. Peterson, the man responsible for creating original languages like Dothraki and Valyrian on Game of Thrones. Peterson has gone on to have a successful career as a “conlanger,” but fans will be happy to know that he’s returning to work on HBO’s follow-up series House of the Dragon.
In fact, Peterson worked on several Game of Thrones prequels, including a couple that didn’t end up getting made. “I was working on the Old Valyria prequel,” he said on the latest episode of Game of Owns. I dunno if it ever had a real name.” (We heard that prequel might have been called Empire of Ash but that was never proven.)
We know, however, that HBO was once working on a Game of Thrones prequel called Blood Moon, which would have been set thousands of years before the original series. They even made a pilot for it, and Peterson worked on the translations. “That one really moved forward,” he said. “I was going to be using the language that got dropped from Game of Thrones that I created for the Children of the Forest…They also had me create a language for the Andals…I was really shocked that HBO cancelled it after filming the pilot, but I guess it shows how serious they are. I assumed that was more of a formality, I guess it was not.”
And then came House of the Dragon, which is set 100+ years before the original show. HBO literally announced the series on literally the same day they announced that Blood Moon wasn’t going forward, I imagine so they could get some good press immediately after delivering bad news. “I thought I was being contacted comparatively late, but I guess, conversely, they just announced it comparatively early,” he said.
House of the Dragon is better than Game of Thrones
Early, late or in-between, House of the Dragon is coming, and HBO has released the pictures to prove it. What’s more, it sounds like it’ll be worth the wait. “I can tell you that I am very, very excited by it,” Peterson said. “It’s rare that I’m actually super impressed by the writing in a script. Usually, it all comes together when you see it. But the writing is really good. So I have sky-high hopes for this thing. I really hope this comes off well and people like it.”
"I hope the season 8 naysayers…I just hope they give it a chance. I totally understand, though. I totally get the perspective of somebody who was like, ‘This show or this movie burned me so I’m done with this franchise forever.’ I do actually understand that mentality. In this case, I really hope that they give it a shot…Watch the first episode or two with an open mind, that’s all I ask. And pay especial attention to all the work I did, cause that’s gonna be the best stuff on the show…I’ll say I had a lot of work since last year."
Is there anything in particular that gives Peterson this level of confidence? Obviously he can’t share details, but he notes that a lot of the team behind the scenes is coming into this show after honing their craft on Game of Thrones, meaning everyone is starting at a very high level. “I think the quality is starting out super-high.”
"It’s vastly different, and all the ways that it’s different, it’s better…For me it was really nice, knowing that everybody knows exactly what’s going on and there are no surprises. It’s been better, hands down."
I’m also interested that Peterson is as involved as he sounds. That means that we’re probably gonna hear a lot of Valyrian from these characters, and no knows what else? “I was so grateful they didn’t bring me on for just one line, here or there.”
All that’s left is to watch the thing. Expect House of the Dragon to premiere on HBO in 2022.
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