“I was going to start today by introducing you to George R. R. Martin and telling you how great it was to have George on the journey with us,” Bloys said.
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“He is feeling fine,” Bloys added. “So there’s nothing to worry about.”
Condal said the show could not exist “without the beautiful work and words of George R. R. Martin. We are incredibly grateful that he was bold enough to entrust his opus to me as the writer and Miguel [Sapotchnik] as the director.”
The premiere was held at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which in 2021 was opened by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the body that hands out the Oscars each year).
Compared to past HBO events it was reasonably modest: there were just 450 guests who had to provide a negative PCR test on the day in order to attend. After the screening the guests attended an after-party inside the Academy Museum complex.
Gang’s all here. House of the Dragon cast and crew, from left: Ryan Condal, Paddy Considine, Steve Toussaint, Emma D’Arcy, Eve Best, Milly Alcock, Olivia Cooke, Fabian Frankel, Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans, Emily Carey, Gavin Spokes and Miguel Sapochnik.Credit:Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO
The new series is based on one of Martin’s novels, Fire & Blood, which gives an historical account of the war of succession that divided House Targaryen. The clash of rivals is referred to in the book and series as “the dance of the dragons”.
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In the fictional world of Westeros, where Game of Thrones was set, the nine “great houses” are Stark, Arryn, Baratheon, Tully, Greyjoy, Lannister, Tyrell, Martell and Targaryen. At the time of the new series, House Targaryen is known as the “house of the dragon” because the family’s power comes from their stable of fire-breathing dragons.
Game of Thrones ran for 73 episodes on HBO, and in Australia on Foxtel, ending in 2019. Though a number of spin-off projects were considered, House of the Dragon was given a straight-to-series order the same year, and was filmed between April 2021 and February 2022.
House of the Dragon premieres on HBO internationally and on Binge in Australia on August 21.
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