HBO goes ahead with a new Game of Thrones prequel – House Of The Dragon

HBO has given a 10-episode, straight-to-series order to House Of The Dragon, a Game of Thrones prequel co-created by George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal. Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal will partner as showrunners and will also serve as executive producers along with George R.R. Martin and Vince Gerardis, it was just announced at WarnerMedia Day by Casey Bloys, president, HBO Programming.

Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, the series, which is set 300 years before the events of “Game of Thrones,” tells the story of House Targaryen. Miguel Sapochnik will direct the pilot and additional episodes. Condal and Sapochnik will partner as showrunners on the series, which will be written by Condal.

Here is the book synopsis:

Set 300 years before the events in A Song of Ice and Fire, Fire and Blood is the definitive history of the Targaryens in Westeros as told by Archmaester Gyldayn, and chronicles the conquest that united the Seven Kingdoms under Targaryen rule through the Dance of the Dragons: the Targaryen civil war that nearly ended their dynasty forever.

Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen – the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria – took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire and Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.

What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why did it become so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What is the origin of Daenerys’s three dragon eggs? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel.

“The ‘Game of Thrones’ universe is so rich with stories,” says Casey Bloys, president, HBO programming. “We look forward to exploring the origins of House Targaryen and the earlier days of Westeros along with Miguel, Ryan and George.”

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON marks Sapochnik’s first project as part of an HBO overall deal where he will develop and produce content for both HBO and HBO Max.

HBO hs cancelled the other prequel series despite having already filmed a pilot. That was the one written by Jane Goldman and starring Naomi Watts.

Miguel Sapochnik won an Emmy(R) for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series as well as the DGA Award for the “Game of Thrones” episode, “Battle of The Bastards.” He was nominated for another Emmy(R) in 2019 for directing the “Game of Thrones” episode, “The Long Night” and won the Emmy(R) for Best Drama Series as an Executive Producer for the final season. In total, Sapochnik has directed six episodes of “Game of Thrones,” including “Hardhome” and “Winds of Winter,” in addition to the episodes previously noted. He also directed the film, “Bios” for Amblin Studios starring Tom Hanks which debuts in the fall of 2020. Previously, Sapochnik directed episodes of “True Detective” for HBO and “Banshee” for CINEMAX.

Ryan Condal was the co-creator and showrunner of “Colony” for three seasons. He was the writer of MGM’s “Hercules” and is currently adapting the graphic novel Analog as a feature for Lionsgate.