The end is near for House of the Dragon, or at least filming on the upcoming third season. After months of filming, production is winding down on season 3 and the show is officially in the home stretch. In fact, filming will be over before the end of October, it seems!
In the latest episode of The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of podcast, House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal revealed that the show has less than three weeks of filming left.
“As of this recording, I still have 20 days left. So, anything can happen in those 20 days, but we are winding down. We have two gigantic set pieces that we are shooting still this week on location. After that, we will begin the actual wind down,” Condal revealed. “The Buck unit is live again. We always know when the Buck unit comes online at the end of production, that means you’re near the end. A lot of the [previsualization] actually takes that amount of time to get validated because they have to animate the [previsualization] which is a really complicated animatic essentially.”
It's interesting to learn that not only is filming almost complete on the season, but that the final days of filming include two major set pieces. The news seems to suggest that season 3 will end with an epic conclusion of some kind, which is certainly on par for the show.
We know several key actors are starting to wrap their runs on the show, so it's going to be interesting to see who exactly on the cast is involved in the final days of filming. We're not only entering the home stretch for the season's filming, but with a four-season plan in place, we're also nearing the conclusion of the show's story unless the finish line moves unexpectedly.
With filming coming to an end, the show will prepare to enter post-production, which will require multiple months of work and is where the magic happens. This is when the creative team behind the show will add in all the special effects that make the show into the masterpiece that graces our screens.
Post-production is when the show’s team will work to put all the final touches on the show and also create some of its biggest elements, including the many dragons featured in the show. The process takes several months to complete, and the clock is officially ticking now that HBO has confirmed House of the Dragon season 3 will release in June 2026.
It’s definitely going to be a tight turnaround, as post-production on a show of this magnitude can take several months. However, we’re not worried about the show facing any delays as there is clearly a well laid out plan if HBO’s head is already talking release windows for the show.
Stay tuned for more news and updates on all things Game of Thrones, fantasy, and sci-fi from Winter is Coming!