Since the summer of 2024, fans have been expecting House of the Dragon to end after season 4, thanks to a report from Variety. Well, that might not be happening after all.
House of the Dragon season 4 was officially announced on Thursday, Nov. 20, during an HBO presentation in New York City, along with a bunch of other HBO renewals. Typically, when HBO or another network confirms huge news like this, and it's the final season, they will announce that it's the final season. There are a few industry reasons for that, but it also lets fans know what to expect. That confirmation was mysteriously absent from HBO's presentation.
According to a report from Deadline, Ryan Condal, the showrunner of House of the Dragon, and the writers are still working on season 4. During that process, they will decide if there's more story to tell.
The report also mentioned that HBO boss Casey Bloys addressed a question about House of the Dragon season 4 being the final season. Instead of confirming it, Bloys actually cast doubt on whether the show will actually be ending after season 4.
Here's what Bloys said, via Deadline:
"For all of our shows, we generally try to leave it to the creators to make that decision. We’ll work with them. Sometimes, people will work through the season to feel like, ‘Does it feel like a natural end? Does it not?’ So, I don’t have updates for you on any of that. But when we do, I’ll let you know.”
So, basically, he's saying the future of House of the Dragon is to be determined. And, that's probably okay with most fans right now.
Why House of the Dragon season 4 might not be the end of the series
For more than a year, it looked certain that House of the Dragon would be ending after season 4. That's basically what Condal said in the summer of 2024, according to reports. So, what changed?
Well, as we've learned through all of these major adaptations and huge TV shows, the story usually gets to dictate what happens, but there are many other factors, too. Budget, cost of the episodes, and literal time also play a factor.
To pull off House of the Dragon the way that everyone wants, there's simply so much that goes into it. That's why we didn't get to see The Battle of the Gullet in House of the Dragon season 2. They want to do that plot point justice and make it spectacular, and they didn't have time to do that.
So, I'm assuming that, while four seasons is the plan, HBO is leaving room to make sure they get everything into the series that they need to. That could, potentially, lead to another season if there's simply too much ground to cover in season 4, and they need a fifth season to finish the story.
Will they actually need a fifth season? I have my doubts about how realistic that is, but it's definitely a good thing that HBO is giving Condal and the creative team some wiggle room if they need it. The most important thing is sticking the landing with a show like this.
There are lot of huge events still left to cover from George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood. To me, there's enough material to stretch into three more seasons, depending on how in-depth they'd like to go with some of these character stories. With that said, if they just hit the big battles and the tragedy about to ensue, we probably don't need a fifth season. But, hey, that's just me riffing a little bit.
House of the Dragon season 4 isn't coming until 2028
House of the Dragon season 4 is a long ways off! Season 3 premieres on HBO in the summer of 2026, which was also confirmed during the presentation. We're expecting to see the season premiere in June 2026.
HBO also confirmed there's going to be another two-year break between seasons with House of the Dragon season 4 premiering sometime in 2028.
Assuming the show follows a similar timeline with a potential fifth season, we'll likely be waiting until 2030 to see the end of House of the Dragon. Is that realistic? Again, I have my doubts.
We'll continue to monitor the situation with House of the Dragon season 4 and beyond! First, we have A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms to watch in January 2026. Then, we have the third season of everyone's favorite dragon family drama in the summer of next year. Stay tuned!