House Of The Dragon Teaser: Get A Glimpse Of Future Episodes

Shall we a play a(nother) game? For the first time since "Game of Thrones" officially ended its watch in 2019, the world can now say it has returned to Westeros under far different circumstances than when last we saw it — both in-universe and in our own, as well. Last night's premiere episode of "House of the Dragon" not only brought a bevy of dragons, complicated new characters that we'll inevitably struggle to spell correctly for months to come, and several stand-out moments worthy of further conversation, but it certainly appears as if viewers tuned in en masse for this prequel series despite lingering bad feelings from the parent show's divisive finale. After all, all those streaming crashes wouldn't have happened if it weren't for high demand.

With one episode down and nine more to go, setting the stage for an epic struggle ripped right out of fellow network show "Succession" (although to be fair, the series is based on author George R.R. Martin's compendium of events in Westeros history chronicling the rise and fall of house Targaryen, titled "Fire & Blood"), HBO has released a new trailer teasing all the explosive and possibly even lore-altering events to come. Check it out below!

If you thought "House of the Dragon" kicked things off on a high note, then you haven't seen anything yet. That appears to be the intended takeaway from this brand-new footage, which frontloads the action with spectacular shots of Targaryen dragons in action, ominous portents of the future, and even a tantalizing glimpse of the epic, years-spanning story to come in future episodes that will see new actors take over certain key roles.

The premiere episode introduced us to the likes of Paddy Considine's King Viserys Targaryen, his troublemaking brother Prince Daemon (Matt Smith), ambitious overlooked heir Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock), and her best friend Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey), among many other new characters with all sorts of conflicting allegiances and loyalties. While storm clouds are growing more and more on the horizon between the royal brothers and new heir apparent Rhaenyra grapples with the responsibilities of her future position, we also get to see Emma D'Arcy in the role of an older and even more fierce Rhaenyra as she seems to come to blows with (former?) friend Alicent, who'll also be portrayed by an older actor in Olivia Cooke.

A show set in the world of "Game of Thrones" can only mean a few certainties in life: political scheming, undertones of incest, downright cinematic set pieces and battle sequences, and characters constantly betraying one another in their mad scramble for power. What else could you possibly want?

"House of the Dragon" airs new episodes on HBO and HBO Max every Sunday night.