There was no way the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon wouldn’t be overwhelmingly popular. While complaints and questions about GOT series finale still haunt viewers, a deep dive into House Targaryen promises something different. The prequel is a slow-burn if there ever has been one, leading to a captivating story about generational trauma.
And after the anticlimactic conclusion of season 2, there are still a lot of questions left to be answered. Will Nettles will make an appearance? Will this Dance of the Dragons ever actually begin? And exactly how many seasons does the series have in the works?
Will there be a House of the Dragon season 3?
On June 13th, 2024, Variety reported that House of the Dragon will have a third season. Given the immense popularity of the first season and viewership of the second, it’s not a surprise that Max greenlit the series for another go-round. Renewed interest in the show has also given rise to the upcoming series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which will be adapted from George R.R. Martin’s book of the same name and cover Ser Duncan the Tall. Season 3 of House of the Dragon was a forgone conclusion.
In an interview with TechRadar, House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal said the writing team was focused on season 3 even before HBO granted it a season 3 renewal. Condal said “We know where the story ends,” and continued that having a road map of the plot can help make your storylines richer.
As House of the Dragon heads into production or its third season, the stakes are high. It is now common knowledge that the sophomore season didn’t go as planned — for fans or creatives. The season was shaved down to only 8 episodes and the highly anticipated Battle of the Gullet has yet to see the light of day (per Entertainment Weekly). Condal claimed that they wanted to do the battle right, but it has come at the expense of season 2. Despite these setbacks, season 3 is imminent, as well as the conclusion of the series.
According to Variety, Condal announced that House of the Dragon would conclude after 4 seasons. This news may be a relief for those still wounded by the finale of Game of Thrones. Dragging out a story longer than necessary never helped anyone. It remains to be seen if House of the Dragon will meet the same fate.
Though half the span of its predecessor, 4 seasons still seems like a long time to drag out the Dance of the Dragons — especially when Daemon (Matt Smith) wasted an entire season away from the rest of the cast. Regardless, perhaps this is an opportunity to right the sins of the past and give fans the finale they have always wanted. The first 2 seasons of House of the Dragon are currently streaming on Max.