House of the Dragon season 3 trailer breakdown: everything we noticed in the Game of Thrones show's latest teaser

That's a wrap

And, with that, I shall bid you all farewell. I might be back tomorrow to add more posts to this trailer breakdown piece. If I don't, though, thanks for joining me today and I'll see you all soon!

Poll time!

It's time for you to have your say, dear reader.

Below, you'll find two polls — you can only vote in each one once, FYI — about how excited you are for season 3, and whether HBO should've waited to release its first teaser until A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 had ended.

Here's poll #1:

And here's poll #2:

So, what are you waiting for? Get voting!

A trip down memory lane

By the time season 3's first episode airs, it'll have been two years since its predecessor also premiered and almost 24 months since season 2 ended. It's little surprise, then, that House of the Dragon's newest teaser spends some time trying to remind us what went down in its season 2 finale.

For starters, there's Alicent returning to King's Landing after her secret meeting with Rhaenyra at Dragonstone. Based on how Aemond greets her, he knows she's up to something — that being, Alicent making a deal with Rhaenyra to open the gates to the Red Keep and allowing her to retake the Iron Throne as long as Rhaenyra lets Alicent and her family leave unharmed.

Clearly, things aren't going to be that simple. Aegon II Targaryen has abdicated the throne and gone AWOL with Larys Strong. Rhaenyra's first born Jacerys doesn't trust what Alicent says. Aemond has no plans to just give up the Iron Throne to Rhaenyra. Oh, and then there's the small matter of each side's various armies mobilizing for the war to come. Long story short: don't expect Rhaenyra to be allowed to take the Iron Throne as easily as she hopes to.

There be dragons

Of course, this being a show with 'dragon' in its title, viewers will want more than their fair share of fire-breathing winged reptile on fire-breathing winged reptile action.

While this teaser doesn't give any real indication of how often we'll see the dragons in season 3, it reveals we'll see most if not all of them. Indeed, from Tessarion (see above) the 'Blue Queen' and Vhagar, to Syrax and Caraxes, the VFX beasts should have a larger role to play this time around, especially with all of the battles we'll see.

The Battle of the Gullet awaits

But enough moaning! What does the teaser actually, well, tease? One of the biggest early talking points concerns The Battle of the Gullet.

Now, I'm not going to spoil what happens during this infamous fight that's contested in the air and on the waves. However, there are numerous clips in the trailer that look like they're taken from this deadly clash, which was reportedly supposed to bookend last season. Let's hope that it kicks off this season instead and gives us an epic battle that'll dominate the news cycle once season 3 has premiered.

Still no official release date...

I guess the biggest disappointment from this teaser is that we still don't know exactly when House of the Dragon 3 will premiere.

Sure, it'll premiere this June, but an official launch date would've been a nice way to close out the trailer. *sigh*

What did you think?

Well, that was around 70 seconds worth of epic fiery action, wasn't it?

The big question is, though, did you enjoy it? Sound off in the comments below!

It's time

Get ready, everyone, because we're minutes away from the trailer's unveiling.

I'm heading over to the Game of Thrones YouTube channel to watch it, so I suggest you do the same. See you on the other side!

House of the Dragon fans call for something, anything to happen in season 3

Comment from r/HouseOfTheDragon

Based on a wider variety of comments and opinions I've seen online, fans just want something to happen from the get-go in this season's opening episode.

Indeed, whether it's in threads on r/gameofthrones and r/houseofthedragon, forums including ResetEra, and/or social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and X/Twitter, people don't want season 3 to tread water like its predecessor did. Let's hope its first teaser proves that it won't.

Less than one hour away

Alright, we're under 60 minutes away from the arrival of House of the Dragon season 3's first-ever footage.

What are you hoping to see? More inter- and intrafamily drama? How about some actual battles from the infamous and brutal Dance of the Dragons, such as the pivotal Battle of the Gullet? Let me know in the comments section right at the end of this article!

A real-life war of words

Like art imitating life, there's been something of a battle over the direction that HBO's House of the Dragon TV adaptation has gone in.

Indeed, in a September 2024 blog post that was quickly taken down, acclaimed author George R.R. Martin, who created the Game of Thrones franchise, criticized Ryan Condal for deviating from his source material. In response, House of the Dragon's showrunner fired back during an interview last April, with Condal saying Martin "just became unwilling to acknowledge the practical issues at hand in a reasonable way."

More recently, Martin described the pair's previously fruitful working relationship as "abysmal" and "worse than rocky" (per The Hollwood Reporter). The fallout has been so significant, in fact, that

HBO head Casey Bloys attempted to smooth things over a few weeks later, telling Deadline: "Like any good American family, I would prefer that our dysfunction stays behind closed doors. But here we are.

"What I would say is George introduced us to Ryan as the person that he thought would be the best to create House the Dragon," Bloys continued. "And, I will say Ryan has been an excellent showrunner and a really great partner and collaborator, so we embrace his vision and his creative choices, or we wouldn’t have done it."

All told, it seems like Martin's time serving as a major creative consultant on this series is over. We'll have to wait and see if Condal and company have made the right storytelling calls when season 3 arrives later this year.

Season 3 will be 'huge', according to one of its main stars

Predictably, those involved in House of the Dragon are going to talk it up to generate excitement among viewers.

Still, when my colleague Jasmine Valentine asked Olivia Cooke, who plays Alicent Hightower, to describe the upcoming season in one word, "huge" was the descriptor that Cooke used over and again.

House of the Dragon season 2 drew criticism for its creative deviations from the source material (more on this in the next post...). Despite showrunner Ryan Condal telling me ahead of last season's release that season 2 was "not just big dragon events", it also lacked the large-scale spectacle that many expected. if nothing else, let's hope that the latter is rectified in its follow-up season, with big and bloody battles aplenty.

Which actors have joined the cast for House of the Dragon season 3?

Speaking of its cast, there are plenty of newcomers you need to know about heading into the Thrones spin-off's next installment.

Among that number is Ormund Hightower (pictured above), who'll be played by Grantchester and The Nevers alumnus James Norton. The figurehead of House Hightower and fist cousin of deposed Westerosi Queen Alicent, he'll have a big part to play in House of the Dragon's next installment.

Here's a quick rundown of the other confirmed new characters you'll see — and the actors who'll play them — this season:

• Tommy Flanagan (Sons of Anarchy) as Roderick Dustin
• Dan Fogler (Fantastic Beasts) as Torrhen Manderly
• Tom Cullen (Downton Abbey) as Luthor Largent
• Joplin Sibtain (Star Wars: Andor) as Jon Roxton
• Barry Sloane (The Sandman) as Adrian Redfort
• Annie Shapero (Red Skies) as Alysanne Blackwood

How did House of the Dragon season 2 end?

I'm back, fully recharged, and ready for the main event, which — at the time of writing — is less than two and a half hours away now.

Before it arrives, remind yourself what happened in last season's finale by reading my House of the Dragon season 2 ending explained piece. That way, you'll have an idea of what's about to go down in its sequel season and/or who its growing ensemble of characters are.

Break time!

Alright, I'm taking a quick break to refuel ahead of the trailer's worldwide debut later today.

While I'm away, why not read up on everything we know so far about House of the Dragon season 3? It's a good read, but then I'm biased, aren't I... anyway, see you shortly!

Not dragon it out

House of the Dragon season 3 won't be its final installment, either. That's because HBO renewed both of its Game of Thrones prequel series for another season last November.

We also know that the show's fourth chapter will be its last. Speaking to Deadline in January, HBO boss Casey Bloys said of House of the Dragon ending after four seasons: "Yes, that is the idea. The idea has always been to follow the history of the Targaryens. If you know the books, you know how the Targaryens end up. So there is a natural end to this particular history of that House of the Targaryens."

When will House of the Dragon season 3 come out?

But enough waffling. Trailer launch aside, you'll want to know when House of the Dragon season 3 will be released on many of the world's best streaming services.

Right now, an official release date hasn't been made public. However, HBO has confirmed House of the Dragon 3's launch month, with the high fantasy show set to return to our screens in June 2026. Start clearing your mid-2026 schedule, then, to make room for its likely weekly episodic drops.

Taking to the skies earlier than expected

I'll level with you, dear reader: I didn't expect to see House of the Dragon's latest trailer until season 1 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (AKotSK) — for those wondering, that's the second Thrones prequel series to be released — had ended. Depending on where you live, its finale isn't out until February 22/23.

Color me as surprised as Corlys Velaryon looks above, then, that House of the Dragon season 3's inaugural teaser will be with us TODAY. After all, wouldn't it have made sense to let the dust settle on AKotSK's debut season first?

I'm not complaining by any means, by the way, more so just curious about the timing of the trailer's eventual release.

From fire comes darkness...

Hello! And welcome to TechRadar's live blog as we count down to House of the Dragon season 3's first trailer.

I'm Tom Power, TechRadar's senior entertainment reporter, and, over the next few hours, I'll be your guide to all things House of the Dragon-related as we prepare for the unveiling of its official teaser. So, make sure you're strappoed in, dragonrider, because it could be a bumpy ride!