‘House of the Dragon’: George R.R. Martin Breaks Down the Dragons’ Design on the Show (Exclusive)
Following House of the Dragon‘s critically acclaimed and widely watched debut on HBO, the Game of Thrones spinoff is taking viewers behind the scenes to show fans how the series was made.
In ET’s exclusive preview, author and executive producer George R.R. Martin breaks down the design of the titular dragons seen on the series — and what makes them unique to the world he has created onscreen.
“You see dragons on some of these shows and they’ve got, like, little bitty wings and they’re big fat things. They’d never get off the ground. The aerial dynamics just don’t work,” Martin says in the video.
“They have to have very large wings, and a relatively slender, kind of serpentine body, a long tail, a long neck,” he continues, explaining the ones that have been created for the series are “more like pterodactyl or dinosaurs.”
These creatures are so massive that they’re comparable to 747 planes and nuclear weapons.
On season 1 of House of the Dragon, seven dragons were shown over the course of the 10 episodes — the most the HBO franchise has seen so far.
In fact, at this time in Westeros, the dragon population is the biggest since the time of Old Valyria, “when there were thousands of dragons alive,” co-creator/showrunner Ryan Condal says.
“George really wanted the dragons to be recognizable from afar as unique and individual characters,” co-creator/showrunner Miguel Sapochnik says in the clip.
And that’s why each one is so distinct — and very much a foil to their dragonriders. According to Milly Alcock, who played Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, “they started basing the personalities of the dragons off of animals and that Syrax was based on an eagle, which [she] thought was really interesting.”
When it came to Caraxes, Matt Smith told ET that “the dragon itself is sort of a cantankerous loner — a bit like Damon [Targaryen] in many respects. He’s obtuse, he’s difficult, but if you’re in, you’re in, and if you’re out, you’re out.”
Although season 2 isn’t expected to return until 2024, it’s clear that the dragons will remain an integral part of the series. “They’re sort of inextricably linked to this story, particularly where it goes,” Condal shared, teasing that over time viewers “will see a majority of them.”
The behind-the-scenes clip, meanwhile, comes from the upcoming home release of House of the Dragon: The Complete First Season, which is available on 4K Ultra HDTM, Blu-RayTM and DVD starting Dec. 20, and is currently available on digital.