Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, and Matt Smith Join ‘House of the Dragon’ at HBO

“Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragon” has added three more members to its cast. The new members Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, and Matt Smith will join previously announced Paddy Considine who is playing King Viserys Targaryen. Filming for season 1 will begin next year.

Olivia Cooke will be playing Alicent Hightower. She’s the daughter of Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, and the most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms. She was raised in the Red Keep, close to the king and his innermost circle; she possesses both a courtly grace and a keen political acumen.

Emma D’Arcy will be playing Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. The king’s first-born child. She is of pure Valyrian blood, and she is a dragon rider. Many would say that Rhaenyra was born with everything…but she was not born a man. D’Arcy has recently appeared in Amazon Prime’s “Truth Seekers” alongside Nick Frost.

Matt Smith will be playing Prince Daemon Targaryen. The younger brother of King Viserys and heir to the throne, Daemon is a peerless warrior and a dragon rider who possesses the true blood of the dragon. But it is said that whenever a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin in the air. Smith's previous acting credits include Doctor Who and The Crown on Netflix, he is also set to appear in Sony's Morbius next year.

Based on George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, the series will tell the story of House Targaryen (a.k.a. the House that gave us the Mother of Dragons herself, Daenerys Targaryen) and take place 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones.

Martin and Ryan Condal (Colony, Hercules) will serve as co-creators on the series.

Clare Kilner (The Alienist: Angel of Darkness, The Wedding Date) and Geeta V. Patel (Meet the Patels, The Witcher) will also direct the series. Greg Yaitanes (Banshee, House) is a director and co-executive producer.

Miguel Sapochnik and Condal will be showrunners, and the pair will also serve as executive producers along with Martin and Vince Gerardis.
Sapochnik, whose directing credits include six Game of Thrones episodes, won Emmy and DGA honors for “Battle of the Bastards.” He was nominated for another Emmy in 2019 for directing “The Long Night” and won the Emmy for Best Drama Series as an executive producer for the final season.

House of the Dragon, the prequel to Game of Thrones, is coming to HBO and HBO Max in 2022. HBO has given the show a 10-episode order for the first season.