The ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel series will return for its highly anticipated second season on June 16
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War is brewing in Westeros — and House of the Dragon fans are being asked to choose a side.
On Thursday, Max released two, dueling trailers in anticipation of the upcoming second season of House of the Dragon, confirming a June 16 premiere date. The “Black trailer” is in support of Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) as she tries to reclaim the throne from her half-brother King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney), while the “Green trailer” pledges its allegiance to the young king and the Hightowers.
Although two perspectives unfold in the previews — as stars D’Arcy, 31, and Glynn-Carney, 29 tease at the beginning of the clips — they both prove that a brutal, bloody war between the Targaryens and the Hightowers is imminent in the Game of Thrones prequel’s forthcoming season.
The “Black trailer” illustrates the lengths Rhaenyra is willing to go to gain back the throne that she believes she’s owed by her birthright and was taken from her due to her gender. “My father chose me, his firstborn child, to succeed him. He held to his decision until death. And yet, Alicent’s son sits my throne,” a voiceover from D’Arcy, 31, says in the clip over shots of the Targaryens gathering.
“I mean to fight this war and win it,” she adds pointedly.
Rhaenyra’s husband Daemon (Matt Smith) also plainly states the Targaryens’ intentions against their enemies. He says, “Our terms are very simple: Renounce the false king and bend the knee to the queen or your house burns.”
Following ample images of the house planning for battle and taking to the sky on their dragons, Rhaenyra adds: “I fear what I have begun.”
The “Green trailer,” meanwhile reveals that Aegon, his mother Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and the Hightowers, will stop at nothing to help maintain his position of power.
“Only weeks ago, my lord husband was alive and the realm was at peace,” says a voiceover from Cooke, 30, as the camera pans through a dark castle. “On his death bed, he knew the realm would never accept a queen. Rhaenyra’s supporters will believe what they wish, but Viserys wanted Aegon to succeed.”
While Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) accuses the Targaryens of being out only “for satisfaction of vengeance,” Aegon fully commits to battle. “Plot against the king and I will pay it back a hundred times over. I’m as fearsome as any of them,” he says, appearing smug and eager to fight throughout the clip.
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The trailers arrived several weeks after Max announced in early March that the Emmy-winning series is set to return in June. At the time, no specific release date was given, but the two previews revealed that fans will be able to tune into the premiere on June 16.
A first-look teaser also dropped in December of last year. The clip appeared to follow the events of the season 1 finale, which saw tensions between former best friends Rhaenyra and Alicent reach a crescendo.
In the clip, Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best) warns Rhaenyra what is to come. “There is no war so hateful to the Gods as a war between kin,” she says over battlefield shots. “And no war so bloody as a war between dragons.”
Alicent also shares her harsh perspective on the impending conflict, stating, “The war will be fought, many will die, and the victor will eventually ascend the throne.”
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The forthcoming season of House of the Dragon is set to resume following the tragic — and war-igniting — death of Rhaenyra’s son, Prince Lucerys “Luke” Velaryon (Elliot Grihault), at the hands of Alicent’s son Prince Aemond (Ewan Mitchell).
The show — which tells the story of the fall of the house of Targaryen, roughly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones — became an instant hit when it debuted in fall 2022. It earned HBO its biggest series premiere ever, garnering 9.99 million viewers across HBO and Max, and was greenlit for season 2 before the second episode even aired.
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Season 1 of House of the Dragon is streaming in full on Max.
