‘House of the Dragon’ Popularity Could Lead to the Creators Leaning Into Source Material Further

It’s been a common theme for spinoffs to not get as much traction as the original TV series, if history is anything to go by. However, HBO’s Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon has been an exception to that theory so far.

Like the original, House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin’s literary work as well: While GOT was based on the A Song of Ice and Fire series, the spin-off is adapted from Fire & Blood. The first volume of the book was released in November 2018, and the show is adapted from the second half of the book. Rather than presenting it as a novel like he did with the books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, Martin authored Fire & Blood in the style of a handbook written by a historian from the Targaryen era, Archmaester Gyldayn.

The events of Fire & Blood take place 172 years before Daenerys Stormborn’s birth and her father, the Mad King’s rule. The historical handbook consists of six chapters: The Targaryen Conquest, The Peace of the Dragon, The Sons of the Dragon, Heirs of the Dragon, The Dying of the Dragons, and Aftermath — the Boy King and his Regents. As things stand, the creators of House of the Dragon plan to continue to adapt two volumes out of the aforementioned chapters: Heirs of the Dragon and The Dying of the Dragons.

These two chapters were earlier released through two George R.R. Martin novellas, titled The Rogue Prince and The Princess and the Queen. The former chronicles the reign of King Viserys I Targaryen and the talks around his succession, while the latter traces the conflict between Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. The Princess and the Queen was released in 2013, while The Rogue Prince was published in 2014.

Seeing the pace at which the storyline is progressing and the warm reception House of the Dragon is getting from fans, it won’t be surprising if the showrunners end up adapting other chapters of the book as well.

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Evan Tiwari

Evan is a staff writer at The Mary Sue, contributing to multiple sections, including but not limited to movies, TV shows, gaming, and music. He brings in more than five years of experience in the content and media industry, both as a manager and a writer. Outside his working hours, you can either catch him at a soccer game or dish out hot takes on his Twitter account.