House of the Dragon‘s second season will go down as one of the most controversial in HBO history, but the prequel isn’t worried about the past. It’s moving forward with its next season. What can we expect when the series returns? What will happen and who will it happen to? Which newcomers will join the returning stars? And will George R.R. Martin hate everything about it? Here’s everything we know about House of the Dragon season three so far.
House of the Dragon Season 3’s Plot
Depending on your own feelings, House of the Dragon‘s second season either ended with some great teases of battles to come or a lot of disappointment. Showrunner Ryan Condal understands both reactions. He apologized to fans who expected the season finale to deliver on some big moments from George R.R. Martin’s story “The Dance of the Dragons.” Readers of Fire & Blood know which events he’s talking about, but viewers also got a tease of clashes that will take place when the show returns. Armies all across Westeros and beyond are headed towards all-out war.
Season three will also see the fallout of Queen Alicent’s decision to give up her son Aegon to Rhaenyra in the name of peace. However, while Aegon’s mother was busy trading her son’s life for her own freedom, Aegon fled King’s Landing with Larys Strong. As for Alicent’s father Otto Hightower, he is currently locked away in an unknown cell by an unknown captor. (Of course, we have our own theory on who jailed him and where.)
The show’s third season will also be its penultimate season. House of the Dragon will end with season four.
Behind the Scenes
Co-creator and executive producer Ryan Condal continues to serve as showrunner. It’s unclear if (and probably doubtful) George R.R. Martin will have any involvement with the series going forward after he publicly shared his major issues with the adaptation and the people making it. However, he HBO’s official show page still lists him as co-creator and an executive producer. Sara Hess, Alan Taylor, Melissa Bernstein, Kevin de la Noy, Loni Peristere, and Vince Gerardis also serve as executive producers.
The eight-episode third season began pre-production in fall 2024. Filming is expected to begin in March of 2025, which lines up with Condal’s own previously stated timeline.
House of the Dragon Season 3 Cast
Season three will mark the return of stars Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, Rhys Ifans, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, and Matthew Needham. Other cast members coming back for more dragon dancing include Abubakar Salim, Gayle Rankin, Freddie Fox, Simon Russell Beale, Clinton Liberty, Jamie Kenna, Kieran Bew, Tom Bennett, and Vincent Regan. Tom Taylor could also reprise his role as Cregan Stark.
Variety first reported James Norton (The Nevers) will join the show as Ormund Hightower, the Lord of Oldtown. The character has only been reference on the show previously. But he is currently leading the marching Hightower army, which did appear in season two’s closing moments.
House of the Dragon Season 3 Release Date
House of the Dragon season three is not likely to debut before spring 2026. It’s also possible it premieres in summer 2026 like season two.