The hotly anticipated prequel series to “Game of Thrones,” due out in 2022, has already won the approval of its most esteemed viewer: George R.R. Martin.
The American author revealed in a blog post on Tuesday that had seen a “rough cut of the first episode” of “House of the Dragon” — HBO Max‘s adaptation to his 2018 book “Fire & Blood” — and he “loved it.”
His tease led with news from IMDb.com that “House of the Dragon” is considered “the most anticipated new show” by the industry website.
“That’s a hell of a list to be at the top of, too,” the 73-year-old Emmy winner added. “Amazon’s new Tolkien series? Neil Gaiman’s ‘Sandman’? Marvel shows? ‘Star Wars’ shows?”
The prequel spinoff is set 200 years prior to the war over the Iron Throne in Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” epic fantasy series, upon which HBO’s “Game of Thrones” was based.
“House of the Dragon” chronicles the House of Targaryen’s rise to power over the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. It stars Matt Smith as heir Prince Daemon Targaryen, Emma D’Arcy as elder sister Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, and other key players including Wil Johnson of “Waking the Dead.”
“It’s dark, it’s powerful, it’s visceral… just the way I like my epic fantasy,” Martin continued on his “Not a Blog” blog.
Referring to the series’ showrunners Ryan J. Condal and Miguel Sapochnik, Martin said they’ve “done an amazing job, and the cast… just as with ‘Game of Thrones,’ most viewers will only have heard of a few of the actors, but I think you are going to fall in love with a lot of them.”
The cheeky novelist then teased a spoiler is a parenthetical follow-up: “Only to have your heart broken later when… but no, that would be telling.”
Martin concluded, “I think the Targaryens are in very good hands. Anticipate away. I do not think you will be disappointed.” He signed off his digital diary with his current mood set to “excited.”
The series, based on his 2011 book “A Dance with Dragons,” was just one of four “Game of Thrones” prequels on the table at HBO, Martin confirmed in a recent interview for James Andrew Miller’s book, “Tinderbox: HBO’s Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers” — including one scrapped pilot starring Naomi Watts that cost the studio an eye-popping $30 million to make.
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