Is House of the Dragon actually live-action Shrek? The jury's out

Is House of the Dragon really just a live-action Shrek? Okay, hear us out. That might sound ridiculous, but a video comparing the two franchises makes a pretty strong case for this most unexpected of crossovers. 

Key scenes including King Viserys on his deathbed, Aemond claiming his dragon Vhagar, Rhaenyra flying through King's Landing on Syrax, Rhaenys interrupting Aegon's coronation, and Alicent's epic green dress entrance all have a strangely accurate parallel in the Shrek movies. See it for yourself below. 

It remains to be seen if House of the Dragon season 2 will carry on this bizarre coincidence, but for now, the first season certainly looks like a much (much) more grown-up version of the family friendly Shrek movies. 

One thing we do know about House of the Dragon season 2, though, is that it won't feature any more re-castings. "I will say, as a reward to our wonderful audience for following us through all the time jumps and recasts, they are done," showrunner Ryan Condal has confirmed. "We tell the story in real time from here forward. The actors are playing these characters until the end. We're not recasting anybody. We're not making any huge jumps forward in time. We are now in the Dance of the Dragons, and we're gonna tell that story."

If you're all caught up on House of the Dragon, check out our guide to the Targaryen family tree for the lowdown on Westeros's most dysfunctional family, along with our roundup of all the House of the Dragon dragons and their riders.