House of the Dragon season 3 will take a while to arrive on our screens, unfortunately, but here we're keeping an eye on every single detail released by HBO about where the plot is heading towards, who's returning to the cast, and more. After that House of the Dragon season 2 finale, we can't wait to see what happens with the Targaryen civil war.
The announcement that the show was coming back for a third season made less than a week after the season 2 premiere, and it's no surprise. The show has managed to live up to the legacy of Games of Thrones, retaining the essence of the franchise while introducing captivating new characters and intense conflicts. You don't want to mess with the Targaryen, or with Alicent Hightower for that matter.
Although the official plot hasn't been released yet, we can imagine there is still plenty of conflict on the way, with the war reaching boiling point and the dragonseeds' existence about to be revealed to the rest of Westeros.
If you're keen to know what's next for one of the best TV shows of the moment (and one of the best shows on Max), dive into our guide of House of the Dragon season 3 release date, plot, cast, trailer, and some exclusive insight from the creators.
Beware though, we'll be getting into big spoilers for the House of the Dragon season 2 finale below.
House of the Dragon season 3 release date speculation
House of the Dragon season 3 doesn't currently have a release date. Work has already started on the stories and scripts and production is due to start in early 2025, but it seems logical to assume we'll have a big gap before we see new episodes.
The scale of the Game of Thrones prequel is huge, which means it takes a long time to film. Between season 1 and season 2, there was a gap of two years. If we follow a similar pattern with season 3, it seems likely we'll get it at some point in 2026. We'd expect a summer release too, to match the previous two seasons.
We will have some more Thrones before then though – A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is currently filming, and we've even had a first-look image.
Is House of the Dragon season 3 the final season?
No, House of the Dragon season 3 won't be the final season – but season 4 will. Showrunner Ryan Condal confirmed that things will wrap up after four seasons in a press conference after the season 2 finale.
While we won't get into book spoilers, there are some huge battles on the way. Given the pace of the show so far, our view is that two more seasons seems like the ideal number to get to the end of this story.
House of the Dragon season 3 cast
Unlike season 1, the House of the Dragon cast stayed pretty stable throughout the second season. There were some big causalities, mind - including Eve Best's Rhaenys and some of the younger Targaryens (thanks to Blood and Cheese, need we say more?)
This all means we have a pretty solid idea about who might appear in the third season. Check out our full predicted list below.
- Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen
- Emma D'Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen
- Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower
- Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon Targaryen
- Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen
- Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole
- Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower
- Matthew Needham as Lord Larys Strong
- Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon
- Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria
- Phia Saban as Helaena Targaryen
- Harry Collett as Jacaerys Velaryon
- Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull
- Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull
- Bethany Antonia as Baela Targaryen
- Phoebe Campbell as Rhaena Targaryen
- Kieran Bew as Hugh Hammer
- Jefferson Hall as Jason/Tyland Lannister
- Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers
- Freddie Fox as Gwayne Hightower
- Tom Bennett as Ulf White
- Simon Russell Beale as Simon Strong
House of the Dragon season 3 plot
The season 2 finale of House of the Dragon set up some very key plot points to resolve when it returns. The main narrative thread was all leading to the big battle on the way across Westeros. From where we leave things, Rhaenyra has the clear advantage thanks to her dragonseeds. This means, that after Daemon bent the knee, she has seven dragons (potentially eight if Rhaena manages to secure Sheepstealer).
Her fighters are preparing to make the approach on King's Landing where Alicent has told them that they'll be allowed in to take control of the city. However, we're not totally sure that it will all go as smoothly as that... In the final moments we see Aegon and Larys heading out of the city, Helaena all but agreeing to mount her dragon, and the Tyland Lannister's new fleet on their way.
Aemond and Vhagar have their eye on Harrenhal too, and we know better than to bet against Vhagar...
Game of Thrones author George RR Martin (who also penned House of the Dragon's source material, Fire & Blood) seemingly has some issues with what's to come, though. "There are larger and more toxic butterflies to come, if House of the Dragon goes ahead with some of the changes being contemplated for seasons 3 and 4…" he wrote in a now-deleted blog post (which contains a possible major spoiler for the new season).
So far, the only thing we know for sure about House of the Dragon season 3 is that Rhaenyra will have a weapon. At least, that's what actor Emma D'Arcy is pushing for, as they explained in the podcast Happy Sad Confused on December 11.
"The petition I’ve put in is I want a weapon. Like it’s getting ridiculous. I don’t even mind if it’s like a little dagger, a short sword. I don’t really care. All the men in the show don’t have to worry about where they put their hands because they’re constantly holding the pommel of their sword. That obviously sounds like innuendo and you can do with that what you will but that is true. And all the rest of us are going, 'Where do we put our fucking hands?' Anyway, next year one hand is going to be taken care of. That’s what I want," they said.
Is there a House of the Dragon season 3 trailer?
There's no trailer yet for House of the Dragon season 3 as filming has yet to begin. We don't expect we'll see one for a while yet either. Keep this page handy for when we do though.
For more on House of the Dragon, check out our House of the Dragon timeline and our breakdown of the Targaryen family tree.
