The good news: House of the Dragon has been renewed for season three. The bad news: we’ll have to wait a while until we get to watch it.
HBO greenlit an early renewal for the Game of Thrones prequel series, which is based off of George R.R. Martin’s novel, Fire and Blood. Just as two years elapsed between seasons one and two, the wait period between the second and third seasons will also take two years.
Ahead, we break down everything you need to know about House of the Dragon season three.
When will season three come out?
Season three will premiere in June 2026. Ahead of the season three premiere, HBO confirmed that the show has been renewed for a fourth season, which will debut in 2028.
Can I watch the trailer?
HBO released the official teaser for House of the Dragon season three on February 19, 2026. The 90-second long clip continues right after the events of the season two finale, in which Alicent and Rhaenyra conspired together to take over the Red Keep for Team Black. However, Rhaenyra’s eldest son, Jace, warns her, “You cannot trust her.”
Are there any photos from season three?
HBO released the first-look stills from season three in November 2025. One photo shows Rhaenyra contemplatively looking at the crown, while the other captures Daemon holding a sword in the midst of battle.
More photos from season three arrived in February 2026. The stills show Alicent and her sons, Aemond and Aegon, as well as Rhaenyra and her husband, Daemon. There are also photos capturing moments at war with Corlys Velaryon, Ser Criston Cole, and Ormund Hightower.
What will season three be about?
House of the Dragon is loosely based off of Fire and Blood, a fictional historical text that recounts the rise and fall of the Targaryen dynasty. Specifically, the series depicts the Dance of the Dragons, a civil war that turned the Targaryen family against each other in a violent struggle for power that ultimately culminated in the extinction of dragons.
While season one focused on King Viserys’s decision to name his daughter the heir to the Iron Throne, and season two depicted the fallout after Viserys’s first-born son usurped Rhaenyra’s inheritance, season three will likely see a lot more of action-packed sequences as we dive headfirst into the perils of dragon fighting.
The season two finale left us in the dawn of war, showing advancements for both Team Black and Team Green as Rhaenyra recruited three new dragon riders on her side and Aemond secured an alliance with the Triarchy. In the finale’s final moments, we see troops across Westeros marching towards battle.
“While this season was very much about the fits and starts of an early medieval war, season three is clearly going to be about total war,” showrunner Ryan Condal said in a post-episode interview.
Who will be in the cast?
Contrary to Game of Thrones’s tendency to unexpectedly kill off major characters, season three will likely see the return of the majority of the show’s main ensemble (with an exception of Eve Best, who brought Rhaenys to life onscreen before her epic death in episode four).
This includes Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra, Olivia Cooke as Alicent, Matt Smith as Daemon, Fabien Frankel as Criston, Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon, Harry Collett as Jacaerys, Phia Saban as Helaena, Steve Toussaint as Corlys, Ewan Mitchell as Aemond, and Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria.
However, death doesn’t necessarily rule out a character’s absence in the forthcoming season. Given Daemon’s haunted Harrenhal story arc in season two, the future might hold a few cameos from characters that have fallen. For instance, Paddy Considine reprised his role as Viserys in multiple episodes, and Nanna Blondell made surprise appearances as Laena at the dilapidated castle, too.