Entertainment Movies Drama Movies 'Game of Thrones' Prequel 'House of the Dragon' Sets Premiere Date House of the Dragon is based on author George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood and is set about 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones By Joelle Goldstein Joelle Goldstein Joelle Goldstein is a Senior News Editor on the TV team for PEOPLE Digital. She has been with the brand since 2017, working as an intern, digital news writer and Human Interest writer-reporter before joining the TV team to help oversee and edit digital coverage. Her work has previously appeared in The Hollywood Reporter. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 30, 2022 11:26AM EDT Photo: Photograph by Ollie Upton/HBO House of the Dragon is gearing up for its highly anticipated arrival. On Wednesday, HBO announced the premiere date for the Game of Thrones prequel and released new photos of the characters. The 10-episode drama series will debut on Sunday, Aug. 21 and will stream on HBO Max. House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood and follows the Targaryen civil war, which occurred about 200 years before the events that unfolded in Game of Thrones. Ollie Upton/HBO The cast includes Matt Smith (Prince Daemon Targaryen), Olivia Cooke (Alicent Hightower), Emma D'Arcy (Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen), Rhys Ifans (Otto Hightower), Steve Toussaint (Lord Corlys Velaryon), Eve Best (Rhaenys Velaryon), Paddy Considine (Viserys Targaryen), Fabien Frankel (Criston Cole) and Sonoya Mizuno (Mysaria). Game of Thrones wrapped its eight-season run on HBO in May 2019. Since then, multiple spinoff series have been in various stages of development at HBO. House of the Dragon Teaser Shows First Footage of New Series Set 200 Years Before Game of Thrones Ollie Upton/HBO Game of Thrones: All the Spinoffs in the Works and What We Know So Far Ollie Upton/HBO Previously in December 2020, HBO released concept art for the new dragons featured in the series. The renderings depicted one dragon's face from up close, with dark red scales and saliva dripping from its teeth. The other photo depicted an orange dragon with spikes on its tail, wings and head. HBO later confirmed via the House of the Dragon Twitter account that production on the series had started, writing in April 2021 beside a photo of the cast's table read, "Fire will reign. The @HBO original series #HouseoftheDragon is officially in production. Coming soon to @HBOMax in 2022." In October, HBO Max dropped the first teaser for House of the Dragon as part of the HBO Max Europe launch event. The haunting video showed House Targaryen in power as one character said in a voiceover, "Dreams didn't make us kings. Dragons did." Ollie Upton/HBO RELATED VIDEO: House of the Dragon Teaser Shows First Footage of New Series Set 200 Years Before Game of Thrones Most recently, Martin revealed he was thrilled for the spinoff, writing in a post on his website that he was "anticipating" House of the Dragon "pretty eagerly." "Okay, I am hardly objective. And I know a lot of what you will be seeing. (I, um, wrote the book)," the author wrote. "I've seen a rough cut of the first episode. And loved it. It's dark, it's powerful, it's visceral… just the way I like my epic fantasy." Ollie Upton/HBO "Ryan and Miguel have done an amazing job," he added of two of the show's executive producers Ryan J. Condal and Miguel Sapochnik. "And the cast… just as with GAME OF THRONES, most viewers will only have heard of a few of the actors, but I think you are going to fall in love with a lot of them... I think the Targaryens are in very good hands." Concluding his post, Martin advised fans to "anticipate away" ahead of the show's premiere and reiterated, "I do not think you will be disappointed."