HBO executive announces House of the Dragon Season 2 expected release; episode details explored

HBO has finally revealed the release of the next season of House of the Dragon. The television network has confirmed that the second season of the HBO series is coming in June 2024, but no exact date has been revealed yet.

The news of the release was shared by Warner Bros. Discovery executive J.B. Perrette during an interview at Morgan Stanley's Technology, Media, and Telecom conference.

With a June release, the much-talked-about Game of Thrones prequel is returning less than two years after debuting its first season on August 21, 2022.

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How many episodes will season 2 have? More about new season of House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon season 1 saw Rhaenyra's son, Lucerys Velaryon, being killed by Aemond Targaryen's dragon, Vhagar. This prompts her towards a war, likely how season 2 will kickstart. The upcoming installment will take up from where season 1 left off, as Rhaenyra Targaryen decides to go to war against Alicent Hightower.

The season will begin following the onset of the Dance of the Dragons, a Targaryen civil war that ultimately led to dragons disappearing from Westeros for over 100 years.

House of the Dragon season 1 was a 10-episode season, but the second installment will only consist of eight episodes. Despite having two episodes less than the first installment, season 2 will be packed with anticipation and action.

It will focus on the war between the Blacks and the Greens, which will go down in history as one of the biggest wars ever seen in Westeros. This season will also explore how the Targaryen civil war will impact the entire world for years to come.

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What else is new in season 2 of House of the Dragon?

House of the Dragon Season 2 will bring back some of the main characters from the first installment and introduce new and important characters. One of the main characters to be introduced is Cregan Stark, whose presence was initially hinted at in season 1.

Showrunner Ryan Condal, talking about the second run, explained that the series is doing major reworking on the dragons in season 2, and viewers can expect five new fire-breathers. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Condal has also said:

"We're not gonna suddenly pull away from telling their stories. It's just the nature of this thing, in season 2, it really opens up the world in a big way and the sprawl grows quite a bit."

House of the Dragon writer and executive producer Sara Hess has revealed that the upcoming season will examine the uncomfortable dynamic between Rhaenyra and her husband/uncle Daemon. She said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:

"Right now, we’re writing season two and figuring out, what is the nature of his relationship with Rhaenyra? There are many interpretations [in Fire & Blood] to that."

Hess has also hinted that the new season will cover one of the most talked about storylines in the book A Dance of Dragons, which concerns two characters hired by Prince Daemon and Queen Rhaenyra to carry out a mission to take down Queen Alicent.

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Watch this space for more updates on House of the Dragon season 2 before it debuts this summer on HBO and HBO Max streaming platform.