The Eleventh Doctor actor trades tweeds for black leather as he heads up the cast of the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon this August
The second teaser for House of the Dragon, the Game of Thrones sequel starring Doctor Who’s Matt Smith, is here. Smith stars as Daemon Targaryen, positioned as the King’s loyal younger brother as the series begins. But then a late marriage leads to the birth of a new son and heir for the king. And the resulting crisis of succession will change everything. Daemon joins forces with his niece Princess Rhaenyra to scheme and plot a way for them to take the Iron Throne and rule the Seven Kingdoms together.
The new teaser sets out the main players in this new game of thrones, and establishes some of the stakes and motivations. We see Rhaenyra in her original position as the king’s rightful heir, and also the dire warnings that “men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend the Iron Throne.”
After narrating the first teaser trailer, Matt Smith doesn’t get any dialogue in this one. But he is a simmering presence throughout. It’s clear that he’s being set up as one of the main instigators of the series’ events, as he shares scornful glances and swirls his golden cape at the new status quo.
But will the Doctor Who actor’s Daemon be this new prequel’s equivalent of Jamie in the original Game of Thrones? A conflicted villain whose mix of charm and personal bravery makes the audience like him despite themselves? Or will he the new Joffrey? A soulless and cruel monster that makes the viewers hope he gets a suitably grisly comeuppance? We’ll have to wait and see…
House of the Dragon arrives on both sides of the Atlantic this August
Like Game of Thrones before it, House of the Dragon will be part of the HBO family in the United States before airing on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the United Kingdom one day later. The new game begins on August 21st on HBO Max in America, and on August 22nd on Sky Atlantic.
