Is House of the Dragon actually live-action Shrek? The jury's out

House of the Dragon and Shrek
(Image credit: HBO/DreamWorks Pictures)

Is House of the Dragon really just a live-action Shrek? Okay, hear us out. That might sound ridiculous, but a video comparing the two franchises makes a pretty strong case for this most unexpected of crossovers. 

Key scenes including King Viserys on his deathbed, Aemond claiming his dragon Vhagar, Rhaenyra flying through King's Landing on Syrax, Rhaenys interrupting Aegon's coronation, and Alicent's epic green dress entrance all have a strangely accurate parallel in the Shrek movies. See it for yourself below. 

It remains to be seen if House of the Dragon season 2 will carry on this bizarre coincidence, but for now, the first season certainly looks like a much (much) more grown-up version of the family friendly Shrek movies. 

One thing we do know about House of the Dragon season 2, though, is that it won't feature any more re-castings. "I will say, as a reward to our wonderful audience for following us through all the time jumps and recasts, they are done," showrunner Ryan Condal has confirmed. "We tell the story in real time from here forward. The actors are playing these characters until the end. We're not recasting anybody. We're not making any huge jumps forward in time. We are now in the Dance of the Dragons, and we're gonna tell that story."

If you're all caught up on House of the Dragon, check out our guide to the Targaryen family tree for the lowdown on Westeros's most dysfunctional family, along with our roundup of all the House of the Dragon dragons and their riders

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English. 

Read more
Daemon in House of the Dragon season 2
House of the Dragon season 3 release date speculation, cast, plot, and more news
Shrek 5 teaser
Everyone is saying the same thing about the new Shrek 5 teaser – why does Fiona look like that?
Shrek and Sonic side by side
The Sonic team had the perfect response to Shrek 5's controversial redesigns: "Take notes"
Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon
House of the Dragon season 3 will start with one of the bloodiest battles ever written by George R.R. Martin
Abubakar Salim in House of the Dragon
House of the Dragon season 3's opening battle is "beastly", according to one of the show's stars
House of the Dragon
House of the Dragon showrunner says season 3 will introduce something from George R. R. Martin's books that Game of Thrones left out: "I just thought it was cool"
Latest in Fantasy Shows
Abubakar Salim in House of the Dragon
House of the Dragon season 3's opening battle is "beastly", according to one of the show's stars
Jamie Campbell Bower in Stranger Things
The Rings of Power newcomer Jamie Campbell Bower has 'revealed' his season 3 character – but it could be a Sauron-style misdirect
Jamie Campbell Bower in Stranger Things 4
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 adds Stranger Things star and Eddie Marsan to cast
Jeff Goldblum in Kaos
Jeff Goldblum's fantasy series Kaos was Netflix's most-watched cancelled show of late 2024
The Wheel of Time season 3
The Wheel of Time showrunner teases future of the Amazon fantasy series beyond season 3: "My job is to do everything I can to get it to the end"
John Lithgow
The Harry Potter TV show's Dumbledore star John Lithgow says it "was not an easy decision" to sign on to the HBO reboot
Latest in News
Just One Look
A new "edge-of-your-seat" Harlan Coben thriller series has been quietly added to Netflix
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 graphics card standing upright on desk with sad text face overlayed.
I just watched the RTX 5070 effectively sell out before it even launched
A screenshot from The Witcher 1, showing Geralt slashing at a hairy beast
Netflix's The Witcher casts its first game-exclusive character with a Witcher 1 deep-cut who Geralt first took care of in the 2007 RPG
Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried as Jennifer and Needy in Jennifer's Body
16 years after it was released, cult '00s horror movie may be getting a surprise sequel: "We're working on it"
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End season 2 visual
One of the best fantasy anime in recent years gets January 2026 release window for season 2
Helldivers 2 Ultimatum
Helldivers 2 has a Major Order problem, but the solution isn't simple because "having 100% participation means the MOs will always be won and that introduces other issues"