Everything we know about House of the Dragon season 3

House of the Dragon season 3 is officially on the way and will continue to chronicle the fiery decline of House Targaryen as war, betrayal and dragon fire ravage this one powerful family.

News of the show's renewal came one week before the debut of House of the Dragon season 2, showing HBO’s continued faith in the savage worlds created by author George R.R. Martin.

In fact, perhaps its green light could have been predicted a bit sooner, especially considering Martin has already spoken about how he’s been working with the show’s writers on not just a third but a fourth outing for this hugely popular prequel series.

With more dicey-dragon drama on the horizon, here’s everything we know about House of the Dragon season 3.

When will House of the Dragon season 3 be released?

House of the Dragon season 3 doesn’t have a release date. The Game of Thrones spin-off’s second season needs to air first — and that premieres on Sunday, 16 June on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK, and on HBO in the US.

The powers-that-be wasted no time green-lighting a second season of the show following its debut in August 2022. They even managed to secure a rare workaround for last year’s Hollywood strike chaos that allowed them to continue shooting against all odds.

With season 2 landing in June 2023, perhaps we could expect to see House of the Dragon season 3 air at some point during summer 2025.

What will happen in House of the Dragon season 3?

No plot details have been announced for House of the Dragon season 3 — but if we know anything about Martin, it’s that he has no shortage of story ideas.

House of the Dragon isn’t even the only Game of Thrones spin-off series in the works, with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms currently in production and Ten Thousand Ships — a show set a millennium before the events of Game of Thrones — recently revealed to have been revived by HBO.

*Warning: House of the Dragon season 1 spoilers below*

When it comes to House of the Dragon, there’s plenty still at stake. When we left Princess Rhaenys and Queen Rhaenyra at the end of season 1, the duo were on the cusp of all-out war following the sudden death of the latter’s son Prince Lucerys.

Season two looks set to make good on the promise of impending bloodshed as the pair gear up for civil war with everything at stake.

As any fan of Martin’s work will know too well, this sets the scene for shocking moments, nail-biting drama and plenty of backstabbing — and until all episodes have aired, we won’t know exactly where we stand going into season 3.

Who will star in House of the Dragon season 3?

No one is safe in Martin’s ruthless fantasy world so while we may think we know who’s likely to return for House of the Dragon season 3, it’s worth taking these casting details with a pinch of salt until HBO has made an official announcement.

With Queen Ryaenyra and Alicent Hightower at the centre of the story’s drama, it’s likely that Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke will be back to play their roles respectively. Ryaenyra’s uncle-hubby Daemon Targaryen is a key figure in the story too, so it's safe to assume Matt Smith will be back as well.

Former Hand to the King Ser Otto Hightower has a pretty cushy job that is usually safe (until it’s suddenly not) which means star Rhys Ifans could be back too — and we need a villain that we all love to hate, so Ewan Mitchell’s war-instigator Prince Aemond Targaryen might be back as well.

Martin’s world is ever-expanding, so it’s likely we’ll meet a host of new characters in House of the Dragon seasons 2 and 3, alongside some familiar faces — if they survive season long enough, that is.

House of the Dragon season 3 is coming soon to Sky Atlantic and NOW