The Greens And The Blacks Go To War In The House Of The Dragon Season 2 Trailers

Every time a Targaryen is born, to paraphrase a memorable line from fantasy author George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire," the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land. This, of course, refers to the uniquely Targaryen penchant for instability that we caught a brief but violent glimpse of throughout "Game of Thrones" — as it turns out, centuries of incestuous marriage traditions will have that effect — but that was nothing compared to the relentless display of fire and blood in season 1 of "House of the Dragon." HBO's prequel series was set 200 years before the events of the original, back when the Targaryen dynasty had reached its zenith and spread its influence across the continent of Westeros. And despite concerns that the divisive final season of "Game of Thrones" might turn viewers off from more adventures set in the same world, the saga surrounding rivals Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) proved to be just as thrilling as the political machinations of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen.

Now that the first season carefully put all the pieces into place for an all-out civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, this next installment of "House of the Dragon" is set to knock them all down ... with a crucial assist from even more of those fire-breathing beasts. As one of the very few major productions unaffected by the SAG-AFTRA strike, season 2 is set to release as planned later this summer. To help drum up another round of hype, HBO has released a new set of trailers and revealed an ominous catchphrase for the mayhem to come: "All must choose." Catch all the action by clicking on said trailers (one for the Greens, the other for the Blacks) above and below!

If you thought "Game of Thrones" tested audiences by muddying up its conflicts and putting heroes and villains alike on both sides, then prepare yourself for even more moral shades of grey to come in "House of the Dragon." Season 1 of the prequel series did a solid job of condensing centuries of competing loyalties and bloodlines into a war for power that mainstream audiences could (mostly) grasp, but readers already know that this next installment is guaranteed to up the ante considerably. For those who already decided to throw in with either the "Greens" (usurpers who support Alicent Hightower and her son Aegon's claim to the Iron Throne) or the "Blacks" (loyalists to Princess Rhaenyra, the late king's daughter) the first time around, well, you might find yourself feeling differently by the time the smoke clears on season 2.

"House of the Dragon" comes from co-creators George R.R. Martin (who penned "Fire & Blood," the fictional history text the series is based on) and Ryan Condal, the latter of whom serves as showrunner and executive producer. In addition to the returning ensemble cast that includes Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D'Arcy, Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans, new characters will be played by Clinton Liberty, Jamie Kenna, Kieran Bew, Tom Bennett, Tom Taylor, Vincent Regan, and more.

"House of the Dragon" season 2 debuts on HBO (followed by streaming availability on Max) on June 16, 2024.