The news isn't really a surprise. House of the Dragon creator George R.R. Martin shared in December 2023 that he was already working with the writing team on seasons three and four of the fantasy drama.
House of the Dragon is based on Martin's Fire & Blood and is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. It tells the story of House Targaryen.
“George, Ryan, and the rest of our incredible executive producers, cast, and crew, have reached new heights with the phenomenal second season of House of the Dragon,” said Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films. “We are in awe of the dragon-sized effort the entire team has put into the creation of a spectacular season two, with a scope and scale that is only rivaled by its heart. We could not be more thrilled to continue the story of House Targaryen and watch this team burn bright again for season three.”
The season two cast includes Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Matthew Needham, Sonoya Mizuno, Tom Glynn-Carney, Ewan Mitchell, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban and Jefferson Hall.
Additional cast members for season two include Abubakar Salim, Gayle Rankin, Freddie Fox, Simon Russell Beale, Clinton Liberty, Jamie Kenna, Kieran Bew, Tom Bennett, Tom Taylor and Vincent Regan.
Martin and Ryan Condal, who also serves as showrunner, are co-creators and executive producers. Sara Hess, Alan Taylor, Melissa Bernstein, Kevin de la Noy, Loni Peristere and Vince Gerardis also produce.
Season two of House of the Dragon kicked off last night on HBO and HBO Max.