The Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon is picking up speed as it adds new cast members and bit of plot detail. This week, the upcoming show adds three new cast members with character outlines coming straight from HBO itself.
Joining the growing cast alongside the previously announced Paddy Considine are Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One), Emma D’Arcy (Truth Seekers), and Matt Smith (Doctor Who).
Cooke will play the part of Alicent Hightower. She’s the daughter of Hand of the King Otto Hightower. Alicent was raised in the Red Keep and has developed a keen political acumen, as well as being “the most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms” according to HBO’s character profile.
D’Arcy plays Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the first-born child of King Viserys Targaryen, both a pure-blood Valyrian and a dragonrider. “Many would say that Rhaenyra was born with everything,” the profile says. “But she was not born a man.”
Smith, finally, plays Prince Daemon Targaryen, younger brother to King Viserys. Like his niece Rhaenyra, Daemon is a dragonrider in addition to being a peerless warrior. “But it is said that whenever a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin in the air,” his profile reads, suggesting he might be in for an ignominious or tragic end.
House of the Dragon begins filming in the next few months, per word from WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar, and will broadcast in 2022. The series, inspired by author George R.R. Martin’s Westeros historical account Fire & Blood, is set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones and is currently set to run for 10 episodes; HBO has not yet discussed potential future seasons.
