Writing on his Not a Blog, Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin has filled fans in on his recent trip to England, where he saw plays on the West End, met with his publisher about The Winds of Winter, and visited the set of HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel show House of the Dragon, which he continues to abbreviate as “HOT D.” He’s been doing that forever and I still don’t know if it’s a joke.
Anyway, he was very impressed with the sets. “All I have to say about that is… ohmigod!” he gushed. “I am no stranger to film sets. I have worked off and on in television and film since 1986, where I joined the staff of the TWILIGHT ZONE revival at CBS. I still recall the rush where I saw them building Stonehenge on the sound stage behind my office, for an episode I’d written. And of course I visited the GAME OF THRONES shoots in Belfast, Scotland, Morocco, and Malta. Those were incredible too. But nothing I have ever seen can compare with the Red Keep and Dragonstone sets they have built at Leavesden Studios in London.”
"HUGE, stunning, and so damned real that I felt as if I had gone through a time portal to medieval Westeros. I love castles and have visited dozens of actual medieval castles, keeps, and towers in my time, and none of the real castles I’ve ever seen can hold a candle… or a torch… to our Red Keep."
Obviously Martin is biased here, but anyone who’s watched House of the Dragon knows how drop-dead beautiful the locations are. And based on the trailer for season 2, we’ll be getting a lot more of them when new episodes start airing next summer:
Speaking of House of the Dragon season 2, showrunner Ryan Condal showed Martin rough cuts of the first two episodes, and Martin was very impressed with what he saw. “Of course, I am hardly objective when talking about anything based on my own work… but I have to say, I thought both episodes were just great,” he wrote, reminded us that they’re not even finished yet.
"Dark, mind you. Very dark. They may make you cry. (I did not cry myself, but one of my friends did). Powerful, emotional, gut-wrenching, heart rending. Just the sort of thing I like. (What can I say? I was weaned on Shakespeare, and love the tragedies and history plays best of all)."
Considering what we’ve heard might happen in the first episode of season 2, I wouldn’t be surprised if the tears flow come premiere day.
George R.R. Martin is working on House of the Dragon seasons 3 and 4
Perhaps even more exciting, Martin also talked about working with the House of the Dragon writers to break future seasons of the show! “I also spent two days locked in a room with Ryan Condal and his writing staff (Sara Hess, Ti Mikkel, David Hancock, and Philippa Goslett) talking about the third and fourth seasons of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON,” he wrote. “They were lively, fun discussions, and we got some good work done… though two days was not nearly enough. There is so much ground to cover that I am not sure twenty days would have been enough.”
It’s great to hear that Martin is weighing in on the direction of the show, even if only for a couple of days in person. Last we checked, HBO was planning to tell the story of House of the Dragon over three or four seasons; now it sounds like we’re guaranteed at least four.
For my money, four seasons sounds just about right for this story. That would cover all the major events from the section of Martin’s book Fire & Blood that covers the Dance of the Dragons. They could probably stretch it out to five, but that may be pushing things.
That said, House of the Dragon has finished telling the story of the Dance of the Dragons, it could delve into other parts of Targaryen history. That’s something Martin himself has contemplated:
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