House of the Dragon season 2: Release date, cast and plot as first trailer released

A lot happened in House of the Dragon season one but the war for the Iron Throne is far from over and season two is well and truly on the way.

After the storming success of this first Game of Thrones spin-off series, Warner Bros. Discovery was quick to give the green light to another adaptation of George R.R Martin’s works. However, before A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight has time to arrive, audiences will be treated to another season of House of the Dragon, which is currently in production.

What else do we know about this return to Westeros? Well, it’s early days but here’s all the key information we currently have about House of the Dragon season two thus far - but reader beware: series one spoilers lurk from here on out.

You’ve been warned!

Is there a trailer for House of the Dragon season 2?

Yes. HBO and Sky released the first trailer for House of the Dragon S2 in December 2023, and it seems all out war is on the horizon.

Watch it below.

When will House of the Dragon season 2 be released?

Season two of House of the Dragon will debut in "early summer" 2024, according to an announcement made by HBO chief Casey Bloys in early November.

The show will is expected to air on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK.

After the first episode of the Game of Thrones spin-off proved to be a hit with audiences, a second slew of episodes was officially ordered just five days afterwards — but filming didn’t start until much later.

According to Deadline, production on the show’s new episodes officially began in early April, with season two set to be two episodes shorter than the first outing. This means that House of the Dragon's second season will only consist of eight episodes.

This was confirmed during a recent interview with show director Claire Kilner who told The Hollywood Reporter: "There are eight wonderful episodes with so much happening in every episode, and we have trouble, at times, bringing them down to one hour.

"Ryan's [Condall, showrunner] decision was to give it a good opening and a good ending, and they're jam-packed with emotional and visually exciting events."

As per the same report, filming began at Warner Bros.' Leavesden Studios with the show’s executive producer, Ryan Condal marking the moment by saying: “House of the Dragon has returned. We are thrilled to be shooting again with members of our original family as well as new talents on both sides of the camera.

“All your favourite characters will soon be conspiring at the council tables, marching with their armies, and riding their dragons into battle.”

It is expected that shooting will continue in Cáceres, Spain. As of late August, Martin confirmed that almost half the series is already shot and in the bag: "One of the few shows still shooting is House of the Dragon, as you may have read. That's true. I am told the second season is half done," he wrote on his blog.

House of the Dragon season 1 recap

House of the Dragon’s first season saw a slowly disintegrating King Viserys (Paddy Considine) try his best to keep his warring family together, all while his wayward daughter Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and brother Daemon (Matt Smith) conspired to split up his house with a sly and incestuous plan.

Read more: House of the Dragon finale bucks trend

Meanwhile, tensions grew between Rhaenyra and her childhood friend and Queen to King Viserys, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) and with whispering parties each trying to sway the situation in their own favour, things quickly came to a head following Viserys' ultimate death.

The final moments of the show’s first series saw Rhaenyra’s son Lucerys and his young dragon chomped out of the sky by the sadistic Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) and whether by intention or by accident, its repercussions are sure to be drastic.

"I think the way that it's going, is it's leading to civil war," Graham McTavish aka Ser Harrold Westerling told Metro last year, teasing what the future of the show has in store.

"Civil war is that great thing that countries indulge in when they haven't got anybody else to go and fight, they seem to just like fighting amongst themselves just to keep their hand in, and this is no different.

“They've had peace for a long, long time, and suddenly they are quite literally destroying the kingdom from within and that's what makes it so interesting, so I would expect more of that – more division, more taking sides."

Time will tell just what chaos House of The Dragon season two has up its sleeve.

House of the Dragon season 2 cast

Fans of the show’s first outing will be pleased to see many of their favourite characters returning for round two. This includes Smith’s Prince Daemon Targaryen and D’Arcy’s Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Cooke’s Queen Alicent Hightower, Eve Best’s Princess Rhaenys Targaryen and Rhys Iffans’ Ser Otto Hightower.

Steve Toussaint’s Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel’s Ser Criston Cole, Mitchell’s Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney’s King Aegon II Targaryen and Sonoya Mizuno’s Mysaria will also return.

Plus, series one regulars Bethany Antonia, Harry Collett, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, Phoebe Campbell and Matthew Needham have also been confirmed to make an appearance.

Meanwhile, the show welcomes newcomers Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayne Hightower, Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers, Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong and Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull.

Due to the events of last season, Considine's King Viserys is not expected to pop-up throughout the season's eight episodes unless creators have a sneaky flashback planned.

House of the Dragon is streaming on NOW.