House of the Dragon season 3: Release date speculation, cast and plot news

During a press conference earlier in August discussing the season 2 finale, showrunner and co-creator Ryan Condal revealed that the Game of Thrones prequel will include two more seasons, and will conclude with season 4.

George RR Martin, upon whose novel Fire & Blood the show is based, previously stated that he anticipated that the show would have at least four seasons.

“It is going to take four full seasons of 10 episodes each to do justice to the Dance of the Dragons, from start to finish,” he penned on his personal blog in 2022.

House of the Dragon season 2 episode 8, which was partially leaked online before its release, saw an epic reunion for Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) and Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), the introduction of the fierce Admiral Lohar, played by Abigail Thorn, and ended with all sides preparing for battle.

Meanwhile, it also featured a major Game of Thrones twist in the form of Daemon Targaryen's (Matt Smith) vision at Harrenhal, which led him to (finally!) pledge his fealty to the true queen, Rhaenyra.

The second instalment of the Game of Thrones prequel has left no stone unturned, with a brutal civil war erupting between the Greens and Blacks, already resulting in tragic death and destruction – and we have no doubt that more is on the way.

So, without further ado, here's everything we know so far about House of the Dragon season 3 and the future of the Targaryen dynasty.

House of the Dragon season 3 release date speculation

While there's no confirmed release date for season 3 at this early stage, we'd guess at an early to mid 2026 release date.

We do know that season 3 is currently being written and, as showrunner Condal confirmed, he's looking to start preparing for production in autumn 2024, and is planning for production to begin in early 2025.

As any Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon fan knows, the scale of the HBO series is absolutely epic, and it takes a long time to put together.

House of the Dragon was renewed for season 3 in June 2024, before season 2 had even been released, showing huge faith in the Thrones spin-off.

HBO's programming and drama series chief Francesca Orsi said at the time: "George, Ryan and the rest of our incredible executive producers, cast and crew have reached new heights with the phenomenal second season.

"We are in awe of the dragon-sized effort the entire team has put into the creation of a spectacular season 2, with a scope and scale that is only rivalled by its heart.

"We could not be more thrilled to continue the story of House Targaryen and watch this team burn bright again for season 3."

How many episodes could there be in House of the Dragon season 3?

It looks like that season 3 could well consist of eight episodes as season 2 did.

When asked about the episodes during the press conference following the release of the season 2 finale, Condal said: "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 two on."

Who will be in the cast of House of the Dragon season 3?

Currently, we'd expect the following cast members to return for House of the Dragon season 3.

• Matt Smith as King Consort Daemon Targaryen
• Emma D'Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra I Targaryen
• Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower
• Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower
• Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon
• Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole
• Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria
• Matthew Needham as Lord Larys Strong
• Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen
• Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen
• Phia Saban as Queen Helaena Targaryen
• Harry Collett as Prince Jacaerys Velaryon
• Bethany Antonia as Lady Baela Targaryen
• Phoebe Campbell as Lady Rhaena Targaryen
• Jefferson Hall as Lord Jason Lannister and Ser Tyland Lannister
• Kurt Egyiawan as Grand Maester Orwyle
• Kieran Bew as Hugh Hammer
• Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull
• Tom Taylor as Lord Cregan Stark
• Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull
• Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayne Hightower
• Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers
• Tom Bennett as Ulf White
• Sir Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong
• Oscar Eskinazi as Prince Joffrey Velaryon
• Jamie Kenna as Ser Alfred Broome
• Vincent Regan as Ser Rickard Thorne
• Amanda Collin as Lady Jeyne Arryn
• Abigail Thorn as Admiral Lohar
• TBC as Daeron Targaryen

We'd certainly expect most of the Targaryen clan to be back in business as we head towards season 3. The final episodes of the season have also placed greater emphasis on the dragonseeds, or the Targaryen bastards, including Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew) and Ulf White (Tom Bennett), so we'd expect them to take on a bigger role going forward.

One character we do know for sure that we're going to meet in season 3 is the long-awaited Daeron Targaryen, Aegon and Aemond's brother! Asked in a recent press conference whether we'll finally meet him, Condal simply confirmed with a "yes" – although the actor to play him has not yet been cast, as far as we know.

He also referenced the Targaryen brother when speaking about Helaena's storyline, adding: "The decision to expand Helaena’s character was that we, were fascinated by Alicent’s family and Aegon and Aemond, and certainly at some point in the story, even Daeron – the beloved, anticipated Daeron – get a lot of the screen time and and the storytelling time because they're the males, they're the dragon riding warriors.

"But Helena was always fascinating to us because she was a bit of a tabula rasa, as described in the book."

Elsewhere, while many viewers were excited at the prospect of seeing Nettles, a fan-favourite character from the books who claims the dragon Sheepstealer, appear in season 2. For now, her story has been conflated with Princess Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) which left many fans disappointed. However, during a press conference, Condal hinted that we might still see her in future.

When asked about whether Nettles has been fully written out of the show, he responded: "I think that's a ‘Please stay tuned and keep watching the story.’ I will say that we love Rhaena as a character and we've really done a lot of legwork to set her up from the beginning as somebody in this Targaryen household who does not have a dragon."

He added: "I think the Rhaena story, as we're seeing it unfold, is potentially one of those interesting interpretations that we have to offer. And I would just say that we don't do any stuff lightly or without thought. Many of these things we've planned many seasons in advance. So I would just say, you know, buckle up and take the ride with us. And hopefully you like the destination it's going to."

Meanwhile, in the finale episode we met a new character in the form of a gender-swapped Admiral Lohar, played by Abigail Thorne. We'd certainly expect her and other characters introduced this season to return for more.

In the finale episode, we also saw Joshua Ben-Tovim appear in a vision to Daemon Targaryen as Ser Brynden Rivers, AKA Lord Bloodraven. Could we see more from him going forward?

One character we're not expecting to see back, however, is the Queen Who Never Was, Rhaenys Targaryen (played by Eve Best).

In a shocking and brutal episode 4, the beloved character was killed off in a fiery clash with Prince Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), who also left his own brother, King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney), badly wounded.

While fans were also excited to see the appearance of Blood and Cheese, played by Sam C Wilson and Mark Stobbart, we're certainly not expecting to see them back for any more either. Similarly, episode 1 saw the brutal death of a young Jaehaerys Targaryen, the eldest son of Aegon Targaryen.

We're also not ruling out flashback scenes – especially after the shock returns of season 2.

Fans were stunned to see the return of Milly Alcock as young Rhaenyra and Paddy Considine as the late King Viserys as part of Daemon Targaryen's visions. Could old cast members be back for more?

We also could see the arrival of even more Targaryen children, as some of them haven't been born yet, including Aegon's younger son Prince Maelor who, in the book, had a role to play in the Blood and Cheese storyline.

In the show, however, Condal reasoned that, due to shortened timelines, Maelor couldn't be born yet.

Condal explained to RadioTimes.com: "In our writing of season 1, we had to compress time a bit to get through 30 years of history, essentially, in what ended up being 20 years, just so that we didn't have to recast every character.

"I think as time marches on longer and longer, it became more challenging to tell all that story in one season, and season 1 was a challenge in and of itself.

"So, essentially, we made 30 years happen in 20 years, and that just meant some of the youngest kids in the story weren't around, or were younger than they are in the books – Rhaenyra and Daemon's children, for one, and then certainly Helaena and Aegon. Maelor is not yet in the narrative in this, in the story, so that was a change."

That might suggest the new generation of Targaryen children are on the way in season 3!

What could House of the Dragon season 3 be about?

We don't know all the specifics of the plot of season 3 just yet, but we'd expect it to continue to follow Martin's book Fire & Blood – albeit with some deviations along the way, as we've seen in season 2.

However, there are certain book events we're expecting to see. Look away now if you don't want to see any book spoilers!

Speaking in the post-episode featurette, Condal said: “While this season was very much about the fits and starts of an early medieval war, season three is clearly going to be about total war."

We're expecting to see the highly-anticipated Battle of the Gullet, a brutal and bloody sea battle that many fans expected to see in season 2. Asked about why he postponed showing it, Condal said it's down to balancing the amount of big events we have in each season.

He said: "We were trying to give the the Gullet, which is maybe the second most anticipated event of Fire and Blood, the time and the space that it deserves. And obviously, as anybody that's seen the finale knows, we are we're building to that, that event will will happen very shortly in terms of the storytelling of House of the Dragon."

“Based on what we know now, it should be the biggest thing to date that we’ve pulled off. And we just wanted to have the time, the space to do that at a level that is going to excite and satisfy the fans and in the way it’s deserved.”

Judging from where we leave off in season 2, we're also expecting Rhaenyra to take rightful place on the Iron Throne in season 3.

Showrunner Ryan Condal previously told RadioTimes.com of future seasons: "There's a history that marches on for decades after this. So it's not about ending the Targaryen history. It's just finding the place to close the curtain on this particular time…

"We're trying to find the satisfying television ending or the conclusion where we can leave everybody knowing that time marches on from here, but we've brought this dramatic story to a close.

"So, I think that's become very clear as we've just gotten farther down the timeline. But I'm not ready to yet talk about how many episodes or seasons are left.

"But I think the nice thing is we know where we're going, we have all the material that we need, because the book is written and hopefully we can bring this to a satisfying conclusion."

Meanwhile, Emma D'Arcy told IGN: "Oh my God, by the end of season 2, I was a f**king shell of myself.

"I was a husk. I could not form a sentence. I was so tired. I need to implement some way of getting through season 3, if there’s a season 3, to really harness as much energy as possible. It is a behemoth."

How many episodes could House of the Dragon season 3 consist of?

House of the Dragon season 3 does not yet have a confirmed episode count, but, from Condal's recent comments, we'd expect it to have eight episodes.

When asked about season 3's episode count at a press conference, the showrunner said: "Without saying anything, because 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."

Season 1 consisted of 10 episodes, while season 2 consisted of eight episodes.

In terms of episode length, we'd again expect the episodes to range from 50 to 70 minutes depending on how much needs to be covered in one particular episode.

Season 2 episode 8 was the show's longest episode yet, with the finale clocking in at 73 minutes.

How many seasons of House of the Dragon will there be?

House of the Dragon will have four seasons before concluding, as Condal mentioned at the recent press conference.

That means we're currently halfway through the show's run.

Is there a trailer for House of the Dragon season 3?

Not yet! We'll keep this page updated with any footage that comes our way.

In the meantime, why not check out what the stars had to say about season 2?

House of the Dragon season 2 airs on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK – find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV.

Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.