House of the Dragon boss Ryan Condal has offered an update on season 3's production schedule – and confirmed when the Game of Thrones prequel will end.

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The show aired its second season finale earlier this week, which drew a mixed reaction from viewers after it stopped short of depicting important book event The Battle of the Gullet – leading some to regard it as anticlimactic.

Showrunner Condal has assured that pivotal moment will be featured in an upcoming episode, with writing on season 3 already well underway as it eyes a filming start date in "earlyish 2025" (via Variety).

At a press conference marking the end of House of the Dragon's second run, Condal was asked whether the show would stick to having just eight episodes per season or return to the first edition's 10-episode runtime.

He responded: "I haven’t had discussions with HBO about it. I would just anticipate the cadence of the show, from a dramatic storytelling perspective, will continue to be the same from season 2 on."

Whatever the case, the pressure is on to bring the aforementioned Battle of the Gullet to the screen as faithfully as possible, with Condal proceeding to apologise for the delay after the season 2 finale aired.

“We we were trying to give the Gullet... the time and the space that it deserves," he explained. "Obviously, as anybody that’s seen the finale [knows], we’re building to that event. That event will happen very shortly in terms of the storytelling of House of the Dragon."

Olivia Cooke stands as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower in a blue hooded cloak and dress on a coastline at dusk in House of the Dragon season 2.
Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon season 2. HBO

Condal added: "The show is so complex that we’re really making multiple feature films every season. So I apologise for the wait, but I will just say if Rook’s Rest and the Red Sowing are any indication, we’re gonna pull off a hell of a win with the Battle the Gullet in the future."

House of the Dragon faced some backlash earlier in the season for its depiction of a dark twist involving two mercenaries nicknamed Blood and Cheese, which some fans argued didn't match the shock value of George RR Martin's writing.

House of the Dragon is available to stream on Sky and NOW.

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Authors

David Craig
David CraigSenior Drama Writer

David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.

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