George R.R. Martin revealed that planning for the third and fourth seasons of HBO’s “House of the Dragon” is underway.
In a Wednesday blog post, the author updated fans on his recent trip to the U.K. where he visited the studio where “Game of Thrones” spin-off series was filmed, and spent a couple days prepping for the upcoming installments of the show, which have yet to be officially renewed by HBO.
“I also spent two days locked in a room with [showrunner] Ryan Condal and his writing staff (Sara Hess, Ti Mikkel, David Hancock, and Philippa Goslett) talking about the third and fourth seasons of ‘House of the Dragon,’” Martin wrote. “They were lively, fun discussions, and we got some good work done… though two days was not nearly enough. There is so much ground to cover that I am not sure twenty days would have been enough.”
After delaying his planned visit due to the WGA strike this summer, Martin paid a visit to the “House of the Dragon” Season 2 set, which he recalled as even more impressive than the “Game of Throne” shoots in Belfast, Scotland, Morocco and Malta.
“Nothing I have ever seen can compare with the Red Keep and Dragonstone sets they have built at Leavesden Studios in London,” Martin wrote. “HUGE, stunning, and so damned real that I felt as if I had gone through a time portal to medieval Westeros. I love castles and have visited dozens of actual medieval castles, keeps, and towers in my time, and none of the real castles I’ve ever seen can hold a candle… or a torch… to our Red Keep.”
The highlight of the trip, however, was when Condal gave Martin a “sneak preview” of the rough cuts of the first two episodes of “HoTD” Season 2, which he called “powerful,” “emotional,” “gut-wrenching” and “heart rending.”
“Of course, I am hardly objective when talking about anything based on my own work… but I have to say, I thought both episodes were just great (And they are not even finished yet),” he wrote. “Dark, mind you. Very dark. They may make you cry. (I did not cry myself, but one of my friends did).”
The second season of “House of the Dragon” is currently slated to premiere in summer 2024.
