House of the Dragon debuts first look at highly anticipated new characters and battles for season 3

We're just over a month out from the premiere of House of the Dragon season 3, and things are heating up for HBO's Game of Thrones prequel. The show just dropped a new behind-the-scenes video to drum up hype, and it might just be one of the juiciest pieces of marketing yet for the upcoming season.

Titled "Cast Back on Set for Season 3," this featurette takes fans inside the making of Dance of the Dragons civil war — including some glimpses at new footage, jaw-dropping sets, and new characters we've been dying to see on screen ever since the show was first announced. Watch:

House of the Dragon season 3 is "astronomical" in size

If there's one thing this new behind-the-scenes sneak peek tries hard to get across, it's that House of the Dragon season 3 is much larger and more epic than anything that's come before for the series. "Season 3 has stepped up a gear. I think we've all felt it," says Rhaenyra Targaryen actor Emma D'Arcy at the start of the featurette, and based on what we see, it's very easy to believe.

Obviously, the big thing we all know is coming right at the start of the season is The Battle of the Gullet, a vicious naval battle where the pirate fleet of the Triarchy led by Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn) launches a sneak attack on Corlys Velaryon's (Steve Toussaint) blockade near King's Landing. Lohar may have only been introduced in the season 2 finale, but there's a history between these two characters that will add bad blood to the mayhem.

"Corlys and Lohar have been brewing and brewing. Finally they come together, and it's brutal," said Toussaint.

But the Gullet is only the beginning of the season — there will be plenty more to come. And at last, we have a glimpse of some of it. "Season 3, it's astronomical," said showrunner Ryan Condal. "It's so disparate. Everybody is far-flung to the corners of the earth. But what happens in the Riverlands or in Harrenhal has a ripple effect that is felt in King's Landing."

First look at Tommy Flanagan as Lord Roderick Dustin

Condal may be leaning hard on the superlatives here, but if the show follows the book at all, his words will bear out. The scope of the war is about to grow exponentially in season 3, with a number of new characters entering the fray. We've known about some of these castings for a while now, but at last we're finally seeing what these important characters will look like in the show.

First up is Lord Roderick Dustin (Tommy Flanagan), the hoary old lord of Barrowtown and leader of the Winter Wolves, an army of Northern graybeards who march south to join Rhaenyra's cause. This is the army that Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett) secured in his dealings with Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor) during the premiere of season 2, and while you might want to count them out on account of being a bunch of old men, that would be quite the mistake. The Winter Wolves are seasoned warriors one and all, who march south to war because their absence — or death — will alleviate some of the burden on their loved ones during the long, hard winter ahead. They view it as a one way trip, which makes them extremely dangerous fighters on the field.

Roderick, also known as Roddy the Ruin, is a memorable character from George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood, and with an actor of Flanagan's caliber in the part, I'm very excited to see what he brings to the show in its third season.

Annie Shapero will play Black Aly in House of the Dragon season 3

Next we have another character who will be part of the war in the Riverlands: Alysanne Blackwell, a.k.a. Black Aly, played by Annie Shapero. A daughter of House Blackwell, Black Aly is a skilled archer who plays a major role in the Riverlands battles — as well as the ultimate resolution of the Dance of the Dragons. She's a staunch supporter of Rhaenyra, so chalk up another memorable addition to Team Black.

Black Aly is a character who many readers have been hoping to see in the show, so this soft confirmation that she's coming is extremely exciting.According to Screen Rant, Shapero will reportedly play the character in five out of House of the Dragon season 3's eight episodes. Expect to see more of her in season 4.

House Manderly will finally get their due in House of the Dragon season 3

The last new character we need to shout out from the featurette is Torrhen Manderly, played by The Walking Dead alum Dan Fogler. Of the three important new characters revealed, Torrhen is perhaps the most interesting. In the book, his father Lord Desmond Manderly pledges support to Jace during his tour of the North, and later sends his sons Torrhen and Ser Medrick with a sizable force to fight for Rhaenyra. Torrhen has a canny political mind, and primarily plays a role in Rhaenyra's bid to rule King's Landing.

However, like Black Aly, Torrhen also has a key part to play in the endgame of the Dance of the Dragons. His inclusion here is another encouraging sign that House of the Dragon is not only setting the stage for a solid season 3, but for its big finish during its fourth and final season.

The First Battle of Tumbleton

There's one other thing that we'd be remiss not to note from the featurette. While we've known for a while now that the Battle of the Gullet will kick off the season, its ending has been harder to predict. There are a great many important battles in this part of the Dance of the Dragons, so the show has its pick of end points. But the big one that a lot of fans has guessed is the First Battle of Tumbleton, where Black and Green armies clash at the titular town in the Reach, and a horrible betrayal takes place that changes the course of the war. Tumbletone is a source of great drama in the story, so it would make sense for a late season play for the television series.

Now, we may have some signs that will be the case. As some eagle-eyed fans have pointed out on X, there's a shot of Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) walking through the ruins of a city that many believe is Tumbleton, with a clapboard denoting it as a scene from Episode 308. While Daemon is not at Tumbleton in the book, House of the Dragon has already deviated quite a bit from the source material. After Rhaenyra takes King's Landing, Daemon doesn't take part in any major battles for a while as he hunts for his nephew, Aemond, across the Riverlands. It's unlikely that House of the Dragon will allow its most famous actor to sit on the sidelines that long, so it would make sense for him to have some sort of role in the season finale clash.

We'll see how all that plays out when House of the Dragon season 3 premieres on June 21, but for now, it's great to get a look at some of the new characters and battles on the horizon.

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