Two of House of the Dragon's most important directors not returning for season 3?

The sets are built and the actors have their scripts: filming on the third season of HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon is going to start any minute now.

On a show this big, the directors are vitally important. We know that Clare Kilner, who directed the excellent season 2 episode "Rhaenyra the Cruel," is coming back. We also know Nina Lopez-Corrado, who's worked on shows like The Night Agent and Perry Mason, will join the show this season. Beyond that, I assume the lineup will be made up of mostly familiar faces; I'm hoping that Alan Taylor, who directed the insane episode "The Red Dragon and the Gold," will return.

But one director who may not come back is Geeta Vasant Patel; she directed "The Lord of the Tides," the best episode of season 1. I still get misty watching this moment where an ailing King Viserys Targaryen makes his long walk towards the Iron Throne to defend his daughter:

Patel also directed a couple episodes in season 2. The news about her not returning comes from the X account @housethedragons, which keeps pretty good tabs on all things House of the Dragon.

That said, it's unclear if @housethedragons knows for sure that Patel isn't coming back, or if they're assuming based on the news that she's joined the directing lineup for HBO's upcoming show Lanterns, about a pair of Green Lantern superheroes solving a crime in the American heartland. It's possible Patel could do both shows.

But we're not sure yet. We're likely to learn more as filming on House of the Dragon season 3 takes off in earnest and we see who's mulling about. If Patel returns, I'll look forward to seeing more of her work. But if she doesn't, there are a lot of great directors out there, including several who have already worked on the show.

UPDATE: @housethedragons has now leaked the full directorial lineup for season 2: Clare Kilner and Nina Lopez-Corrado are present. The other two directors in involved are Andrij Parekh and Loni Peristere, both of whom came on board the show in season 2.

Andrij Parekh worked on shows like Succession before helming "Smallfolk," one of the better episodes of House of the Dragon season 2. Loni Peristere worked on the excellent, hugely underrated action series Warrior before coming into House of the Dragon and directing "The Red Sowing," a spectacular action episode from the back half of season 2.

Both of these directors have proven themselves and I'm sure they'll bring it in season 3. The big surprise from this latest leak — and we should underline that this news isn't confirmed — is that not only will Geeta Vasant Patel not be returning, but neither will Alan Taylor, who was brought on to the show following the exit of original co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik to provide a steady hand. Three seasons in, perhaps that hand is no longer needed, and clearly Peristere is up to the challenge of doing a big action episode.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.