*Warning: This article contains spoilers*

The next chapter of House of the Dragon is on its way, after it was confirmed that the sophomoric season had, not only a confirmed release date, but also a new teaser to whet our appetites.

'We are beyond proud of what the entire House of the Dragon team has accomplished with season one,' said HBO's executive vice president of Programming, Francesca Orsi of the show's success.

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'Our phenomenal cast and crew undertook a massive challenge and exceeded all expectations, delivering a show that has already established itself as must-see-TV. A huge thank you [to co-creator and executive producer George RR Martin and co-creator and showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik] for leading us on this journey. We couldn't be more excited to continue bringing to life the epic saga of House Targaryen.'

house of the dragon season 2
Warner Bros.

Who will star in House Of The Dragon season two?

As for who will be returning for season two, Emma D'Arcy is set to reprise their role as the named heir of Rhaenyra Targaryen. Meanwhile, Matt Smith's Prince Daemon and Eve Best's Princess Rhaenys will also return in the defence of Rhaenyra Targaryen, while Rhys Ifans and Fabien Cole will resume their roles as Otto Hightower and Ser Criston Co.

Prince Lucerys Velaryon's unfortunate end in season one means it's unlikely we'll see actor Elliot Grihault reprise the role, but we anticipate the implications of his death to feature heavily in season two.

What will the plot of House Of The Dragon season two be?

News of a second season dropped just five days after the first episode of the series aired in the summer, with the episode being viewed by an impressive 20 million people in less than a week of its premiere - the largest audience for any new original HBO series ever.

The finale episode of season one - which aired in October 2022 - introduced the beginning of the civil war, the Dance of the Dragons. The final episode showed Rhaenyra Targaryen (D'Arcy), the daughter and only surviving child of King Viserys I and Aemma Arryn, grappling with her father King Viserys' (Paddy Considine) death.

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WESLEY DE WIT//Getty Images


The heartbreaking stillbirth of her sixth child resulted in sheer agony towards the beginning of the episode, when we also saw the fears of Prince Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault), Rhaenyra's son, as he dealt with the undesirable prospect of ascending the throne, Driftmark. Velaryon's fate depended on whether his uncle Lord Corlys (Steve Toussaint), still on the verge of death, would recover from his battle wounds.

Following the King’s funeral, the war council unfurled, which was headed by Rhaenyra and her sons in attendance. She was seen confirming her allies and a tense situation with her husband Daemon as he took over the meeting when a conversation about dragons came to light. Though initially reluctant go to war, Rhaenyra was forced to give up on her hopes for peace in order for the battle to begin.

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Matt Winkelmeyer/GA//Getty Images

The closing scene showed Daemon walking through the Dragonstone Hall to tell Rhaenyra that her second-born child, Prince Lucerys Velaryon, has died.

In the series, Daemon crowned Rhaenyra queen after the death of her two eldest sons, but is force to fight for the Iron Throne.

Speaking to The Times, Condal revealed that producers deliberately slowed down the narrative for the first season in a bid to ensure viewers were invested in the new characters.

He explained: 'We will get to the spectacle. But you have to understand these people’s complexities before they’re thrown into war.

'Series two will hit the rhythms people came to expect from the middle run of Game Of Thrones, but it will have been earned, and viewers will feel the tragedies because we put the work in.'

In the first teaser released for the second season, a merciless war between the Targaryens and the Hightowers can be seen, as tensions between the two former best friends set to reach a crescendo following the devastating season one finale.

In the teaser, Princess Rhaenys warns Rhaenyra what is to come as tensions mount between her and Alicent.

'There is no war so hateful to the Gods as a war between kin,' Rhaenys says against a backdrop of several intense battlefield shots. 'And no war so bloody as a war between dragons.'

Does The House Of The Dragon season two have a release date?

As announced by HBO network chief Casey Bloys in October, House of the Dragon season two will premiere in 'early summer' 2024, but during an interview at a conference on March 1, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav confirmed that the second season will in fact debut in June, meaning there’s not too long to wait.


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Sakaynah Hunter
Former News Editor

Sakaynah Hunter was the former Digital News Editor at ELLE.