House of the Dragon season 3 continues to film across the pond, which star Matt Smith, who plays Daemon Targaryen, recently confirmed is coming to an end soon. As the various cast members continue to promote other works in between seasons, they've done a good job hyping up the next installment as the wait continues for fans.
While promoting her Amazon Prime Video series The Girlfriend, star Olivia Cooke, who plays Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon, commented that filming is going well and that the series is doing more practical stunt work, which is particularly exciting.
“We started in April, so we are done in October. We’re over halfway and it’s massive… It’s ridiculous, it is actually ridiculous and it’s a lot of practical, huge stunt work. It is mad,” Cooke told Screen Rant.
Ever since 2019, Game of Thrones fans have been chasing a high that they just can’t quite seem to sustain. Viewers went into the final season of the beloved series with sky-high expectations and little reason to doubt the creatives behind it all, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. However, weeks later, the HBO series had reached its end, and just about everyone was left feeling distinctly unsatisfied.
What had been a cultural juggernaut, nearing the levels of ubiquitous franchises like Harry Potter or Star Wars, failed to stick the landing for many fans and viewers to such an extent that it tainted their entire viewing experience.
Since then, HBO has struggled to recapture the same fervor. While there were initially plans to move forward with numerous spin-offs, sequels, and prequels straight away, those ambitions have faltered. Numerous of the planned series were scrapped or thrown out altogether, with one, titled Bloodmoon and starring Academy Award-nominated Naomi Watts, filming a pilot before being unceremoniously dumped. The only actual Thrones spin-off series that made it to fruition was House of the Dragon.
While the first season was largely well-received by fans and critics alike, even winning Best Drama at the Golden Globes, things changed in the second season. Its episode count was reduced, resulting in a season with practically no climax, confusing viewers. Even Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin publicly criticized the series for its handling of the material.
But now, with filming for its third season underway, it seems as though House of the Dragon may finally be finding its footing again.
Between Cooke's comments and showrunner Ryan Condal’s previous teases about the third season, the installment of House of the Dragon may finally get the magic back and recapture that audience that was once so rabid for more Game of Thrones material.
House of the Dragon season 3 is currently expected to premiere sometime in 2026.