Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin officially announces a major filming update for HBO’s House of the Dragon season 2 amid the strikes.
Game of Thrones creator George R. R. Martin has an important update about House of the Dragon season 2. House of the Dragon follows the struggle between the Greens, who stand behind Aegon Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney), and the Blacks, who support Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy). Tensions escalated following Lucerys’ (Elliot Grihault) death, and the two sides will seemingly wage a brutal total war in season 2. Despite the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike, House of the Dragon production has continued unimpeded with a summer 2024 premiere target.
In a recent post on his Not A Blog, Martin announced that production for House of the Dragon season 2 is halfway through and progressing well. The Game of Thrones creator also explains why the spinoff is able to film despite the strikes shutting down most Hollywood productions. He says the writing was already completed before the writers’ strikes began in May, while the actors are members of Equity, as opposed to SAG-AFTRA, meaning that they do not need to abide by strike terms. As Martin emphasized, Equity has offered full support for the American strikers, but it cannot legally offer sympathy strikes due to UK law. Check out his quote below:
“One of the few shows till shooting is HOUSE OF THE DRAGON , as you may have read. That’s true. I am told the second season is half done. ALL of the scripts had been finished months before the WGA strike began. No writing has been done since, to the best of my knowledge. HOTD is shot mostly in London (and a little bit in Wales, Spain, and various other locations), which is why filming has continued. The actors are members of the British union, Equity, not SAG-AFTRA, and though Equity strongly supports their American cousins (they have a big rally planned to show that support), British law forbids them from staging a sympathy strike. If they walk, they have no protection against being fired for breach of contract, or even sued.
((Honestly, I was shocked to hear that. One of the two major UK political parties, Labour, has its roots in the trade union movement. How in the world could they have allowed such anti-labor regulations to be enacted? Seems to me that Labour Party really needs to do a better job of protecting the right to strike)).
As for me personally, my overall deal with HBO was suspended on June 1.
I still have plenty to do, of course. In that, I am one of the lucky ones. (These strikes are not really about name writers or producers or showrunners, most of whom are fine; we’re striking for the entry level writers, the story editors, the students hoping to break in, the actor who has four lines, the guy working his first staff job who dreams of creating his own show one day, as I did back in the 80s).”
When Will House Of The Dragon Season 2 Release?
Filming for House of the Dragon season 2 began on April 11. If Martin’s estimate proves correct, there will be approximately 102 more days of filming, so production could wrap roughly in November. Considering the amount of special effects work that will need to go into House of the Dragon season 2, it is likely that the season will be released in the summer or fall of 2024. Currently, HBO is aiming for House of the Dragon season 2 to premiere in the summer of 2024, so it is progressing right on schedule.
The long wait makes some sense since the VFX load will be tremendous for the upcoming season. After the cliffhanger ending of House of the Dragon season 1 left Rhaenyra ready to wage war, the show is set to amplify the tensions to outright battle. Lucerys Velaryon is dead, Daemon is searching for more dragons, and Westeros is about to be dragged into a bloody civil war. Dragons will be fighting dragons, leaving an enormous amount of development still to be done.
HBO only greenlit House of the Dragon season 2 after the record-breaking response to the premiere proved that Game of Thrones is still a viable franchise after its disappointing ending. As a result, filming was pushed back by months, as House of the Dragon still needed to complete pre-production even as season 1 was airing. Now that the show has proven that it can hold its own, season 3 may be produced more quickly. With half of House of the Dragon season 2 already filmed, more updates are sure to come soon as production churns on.
