HBO responds to House of the Dragon season 2 release date rumors

Matt Smith and Emma D'Arcy in House of the Dragon season 2
Matt Smith and Emma D'Arcy in House of the Dragon season 2

Last week, House of the Dragon star Matt Smith went on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show and, true to the example of his character Daemon Targaryen, sowed chaos. He was asked when the second season of HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series was coming out. Given that HBO hasn't made an official announcement yet, the prudent thing to do might have been to demur. Instead, Smith gave us what we were looking for: "August, I think," he said. "I think summer, this summer, yeah."

We'd already heard that House of the Dragon season 2 was coming out sometime this summer, but this was the first we'd heard about "August." It would make sense; the first season of House of the Dragon came out in August of 2022, so why wouldn't the second follow suit?

But again, this wasn't an official announcement; this was Matt Smith speaking out of turn, which, to be clear, we very much appreciate. Tech Radar reached out to HBO to see if they had any official comment. "We have nothing to announce about a debut date or month for season 2," the representative said.

So they neither confirmed nor denied what Smith said, but the evidence is piling up. HBO has already released a trailer for House of the Dragon season 2; as the year ramps up, so will the marketing. We imagine we'll have an official release date — or at least a release month — sooner rather than later.

Until then, we very much encourage Smith and his House of the Dragon castmates to blurt out information without prior approval from their bosses at HBO. Keep it interesting out there.

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