A recent Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon rumor indicates that the show will have two female lead roles.
House of the Dragon is expected to focus on The Dance of the Dragons, a brutal civil war involving House Targaryen. The Dance of the Dragons took place hundreds of years before the original series, which is based off George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.
Martin announced back in October 2019 that the series will be based off his Fire & Blood novel that details the history of Westeros as told by Archmaester Gyldayn.
Miguel Sapochnik who directed “Battle of the Bastards” and “The Winds of Winter” is the showrunner. He will be joined by Ryan Condal.
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Sapochnik will also direct the pilot as well as a number of other episodes. The first season is expected to have 10 episodes.
This new rumor regarding House of the Dragon comes from Recapped.
They claim, “They are currently casting the leads for the Game of Thrones prequel series. There are two female roles: Rhaenyra Targaryen who they’re looking for someone in their late 20s for and Alicent Hightower who should be slightly older.”
They concluded, “Filming is currently scheduled to take place next year in the UK and Spain.”
Adding on to this rumor from Recapped, Entertainment Weekly reported that according to their sources HBO “has begun casting for its eagerly anticipated series House of the Dragon.”
EW’s sources also tell them “that the famed Dance of Dragons – the Targaryen Civil War that occasionally referenced in GoT that ripped apart Westeros – will be tackled at some point in the series.”
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EW didn’t speculate on which characters could be cast in the show, but they did list a number of influential characters in the Targaryen civil war. They include: King Viserys I, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Queen Alicent Hightower, and Aegon II Targaryen.
King Viserys I Targaryen was the fifth Targaryen king to sit on the Iron Throne. He ruled from 103 AC to 129 AC. He rode on Balerion until the dragon died of old age. His reign was one of peace and prosperity.
However, under Viserys’ reign, his court began to split into two. The first was that of Viserys’ second wife Queen Alicent and those of her children specifically her sons and her eldest son Aegon II Targaryen. This faction would be referred to as the “greens.”
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The second party was that of Viserys’ daughter from his wife and the named heir to the Iron Throne, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. This faction would be called the “blacks.”
Much of the rivalry came over succession and their role as first lady of the realm. Alicent attempted to bolster her position by offering her eldest son Aegon to be Rhaenyra’s husband, but Viserys rejected this move claiming Aegon was too young. He was 10 years younger than Rhaenyra.
Rhaenyra would eventually marry Ser Laenor Valyeron after her father threatened to remove her from succeeding him to the Iron Throne.
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In an attempt to end the growing feud between Rhaenyra and Alicent, Viserys ordered that Rhaenyra’s son Jacaerys and his son by Alicent Daeron share a wetnurse.
However, the enmity would only grow and would bubble to the surface during the funeral of Laena Velaryon where Aemond Targaryen, the second son of Alicent, would lose an eye after he accused Rhaenyra’s sons of being bastards.
Eventually, after Viserys’s death, Aegon II, the son of Alicent would be crowned king despite Viserys decreeing his daughter Rhaenyra was his heir. With Aegon II being crowned king, the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons would break out.
What do you make of this rumor? What are your expectations for House of the Dragon?