by Thinus Ferreira
HBO has unveiled the first teaser footage of its Game of Thrones prequel spin-off series, House of the Dragon that will be coming to its HBO Max video streaming service in 2022.
"Gods, kings, fire and blood. Dreams didn't make us king. Dragons did," viewers hear in the first teaser for the 10-episode House of the Dragon.
The prequel series will chronicle the fall of the House of Targaryen when dragons still roamed Westeros in bigger numbers before their virtual extinction during the time of Game of Thrones and the family politics and drama - basically a family civil war - that became known as the legendary "Dance of the Dragons".
Matt Smith appears as dragonrider Prince Daemon Targaryen in the first teaser for the series that takes place 200 years before Game of Thrones.
HBO Max also announced further cast additions for the series, with Wil Johnson as Ser Vaemond Velaryon, John Macmillan as Ser Laenor Velaryon, Savannah Steyn as Lady Laena Velayron, and Theo Nate as Ser Laenor Velaryon.
House of the Dragon will be released at an unspecified date in 2022 and the teaser was released today as part of a promotional effort by WarnerMedia that plans to roll out HBO Max in Europe and that held a virtual Europe launch event in Tuesday.
It's not yet clear whether MultiChoice's M-Net or Showmax in South Africa might be able to acquire House of the Dragon like it did Game of Thrones.
House of the Dragon is specifically made for HBO Max, that WarnerMedia plans to still roll out globally, similar to Disney+ (coming to South Africa around June 2022 to South Africa), ViacomCBS' Paramount+, and Discovery Inc.'s Discovery+.
Neither Christina Sulebakk, general manager for HBO Max for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, nor Priya Dogra, president of WarnerMedia International, have so far announced any specific launch date yet for HBO Max in sub-Saharan Africa.
That means that similar to Disney+ series like The Mandalorian, South African viewers won't be able to watch House of the Dragon legally even if they want to pay, unless WarnerMedia or HBO does a licensing agreement with M-Net or Showmax.
Johannes Larcher, WarnerMedia's head of HBO Max International, said that HBO Max plans to be available in 190 countries by 2026.
