The House of the Dragon season 3 finale has made a big lore change to Alys Rivers – and it might mean she could show up in the Aegon's Conquest movie.

Warning, the following contains major spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3, episode 8! Turn back now if you're not up to date!

In the episode, Alys is revealed to actually be the wife of Harrenhal's original owner Harren, making her hundreds of years old. She was cursed to immortality after attempting to save the life of her son, who was burned by Balerion during Aegon's Conquest.

"ALYS WIFE OF HARREN THE BLACK? ALYS IN THE AEGON THE CONQUEROR MOVIE MAYBE???? Genuinely such a cool idea and origin point for the character" says one fan on Twitter.

An Aegon's Conquest movie is indeed at the works at Warner Bros., from Andor writer Beau Willimon.

In George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood, Alys does not have this same backstory, and she is instead a mysterious bastard of House Strong. While she is noted as looking strangely young, she has no connection to Harren.

"Perfect example of deviating from the source material and it actually enriches the story," says another fan.

"I'm 50/50 on this. Sometimes the answer to the mystery isn't as good as the mystery. This is one of those I believe. Beautiful scene. I just need to sit with this for a bit," says another person.

"Would be a cool idea for the Conquest film for continuity," is another person's thoughts.

For more on the show, check out our guide on everything there is to know about House of the Dragon season 4, as well as our House of the Dragon season 3 ending explained.

New Game of Thrones play The Mad King has pretty much revealed the identity of the Prince that was Promised – though with a major twist.

Warning, the following contains spoilers for the new play, so turn back now if you don't want to know the details!

GamesRadar+ attended a performance of Game of Thrones: The Mad King, and we were treated to a major lore revelation.

The Prince that was Promised prophecy has increasingly become a huge deal in the Game of Thrones universe, and it was revealed in House of the Dragon season 1 that Aegon the Conqueror foresaw the Long Night and the threat of the White Walkers – and that a Targaryen would need to be seated on the Iron Throne to combat the danger.

However, the true identity of the Prince that was Promised is somewhat murky. It seemed fairly obvious thanks to the TV show that it would end up being either Jon Snow or Daenerys Targaryen – with more signs pointing towards Jon, considering Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark are his parents – but ultimately, the Night King (an invention of the TV show) was defeated by Arya Stark.

The Mad King, however, has revealed more about the prophecy. King Aerys believes that the Prince that was Promised must be a third-born child, which explains the significance of "the dragon has three heads" (at least, as far as he interprets it, anyway). Rhaegar originally believes himself to be the Prince that was Promised, but, as a firstborn son, he is ruled out. He then believes his second-born child, a boy named Aegon, is the prophesied prince – though, when he declares this to be so, he sees Daenerys across time (Daenerys is in the House of the Undying Ones, watching the scene herself, as depicted in A Clash of Kings).

Later, after Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen run away to the Tower of Joy together, a red comet appears in the sky. Both Lyanna and Aerys believe this to be an omen, and so they both rush to conceive children.

Aerys's wife, Rhaella, is cruelly abused by her husband, and so as the Kinsguard arrive to take her to him, she declares that she does not wish to birth the prophesied prince, but rather the "scourge of the world" and "a vengeful daughter, whose wrath will return dragons and set the realm ablaze." She ultimately gives birth to Daenerys Targaryen.

Lyanna, meanwhile, gives birth to Jon Snow. In the play, he is not named Aegon, and Rhaegar and Lyanna also do not seem to be married, meaning he's still a bastard (there is some ambiguity here, however).

So, both Jon and Daenerys are third-born children, meaning they both fit the prophecy. There is one caveat, however: Rhaella had multiple stillborn children or children who died in infancy before Daenerys. But the play is pretty emphatic about both Jon and Dany being third children born under the red comet.

So, it would seem both Jon and Daenerys are the Prince that was Promised… or only one of them is, and the other is a red herring. George R.R. Martin has been clear before that only the books are canon, though he was involved in the play, so we can treat this as at least semi-canon. But, we won't know for sure until (or if) George R.R. Martin finishes his books.

Game of Thrones: The Mad King is playing at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from now until September 5, 2026. For more on the play, check out our guide to 16 things we learned about Game of Thrones from The Mad King.

You can keep up to date with the world of Westeros with our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

It turns out Jon Snow's Game of Thrones season 8 plot might not be set in stone in George R.R. Martin's books, thanks to a major revelation in new play The Mad King.

Spoilers follow for Game of Thrones: The Mad King, so turn back now if you don't want to spoil the play!

GamesRadar+ attended a performance of the new play in the UK's Stratford-Upon-Avon, and we learned some very interesting news about Jon Snow that contradicts his TV show plot.

In the TV show, Jon is eventually revealed to be Aegon Targaryen, son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. The lovebirds actually got married, as witnessed by Bran Stark, and so Jon/Aegon is officially the true heir to the Iron Throne, displacing Daenerys in the Targaryen line of succession.

However, the play tells a very different story. While Jon is still the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, crucially, the lovers are never actually seen to be formally married. There is some ambiguity here, however, because Elia Martell – Rhaegar's actual wife – makes reference to always being fine with the idea of Rhaegar taking a second wife: one for duty, and one for love. And, a time skip glosses over Rhaegar and Lyanna running away together, with Act 2 picking up with the couple already hidden away in the Tower of Joy. So, it's possible Rhaegar and Lyanna are considered wedded, but, either way, no wedding ceremony actually takes place onstage (personally, I didn't get the impression that they had married).

This means Jon is most likely still a bastard, with no official claim to the Iron Throne at all (though, as Rhaegar's son, he could still make some kind of claim for the crown). Even more importantly, though, is the fact that Lyanna does not actually name her son before dying in childbirth. In the TV show, she told her brother Ned Stark that her son's name was Aegon. In the play, Ned chooses to name the baby Jon after Jon Arryn of the Vale, who fostered Ned and Robert Baratheon as children.

All of this lends credence to the theory that the TV show blended elements of Jon Snow's storyline with Young Griff, AKA Aegon Targaryen – who claims to be the second-born son of Rhaegar (with his wife Elia), thought murdered by the Mountain during the sack of King's Landing but actually swapped with another child and saved. While there's plenty of evidence in Martin's books to suggest Young Griff is a fraud, it still hasn't been confirmed either way. If Young Griff is who he says he is, then he is the true heir to the Iron Throne – and he's named Aegon.

Young Griff was cut from the TV show, so it wouldn't be a huge surprise if Jon Snow did end up absorbing some of his plot. What exactly that means for Jon remains to be seen, since, in the TV show, his heritage didn't end up being that big of a deal.

But, this all comes with the caveat that Martin has said before that only the books are canon. Martin was involved with The Mad King, however, so we can probably take the play as a semi-canon source with as much legitimacy as the TV show. Ultimately, we won't know for sure until (or if) Martin finishes the books. Here's hoping The Winds of Winter comes soon...

Game of Thrones: The Mad King is playing at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from now until September 5, 2026. For more on the play, check out our guide to 16 things we learned about Game of Thrones from The Mad King.

You can keep up to date with the world of Westeros with our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal has revealed why, unlike George R.R. Martin's works, the HBO show leaves the Prince That Was Promised prophecy very much out in the open.

Warning, the following contains mild spoilers for the House of the Dragon season 3 finale. Turn back now if you haven't caught up, but make sure to read our House of the Dragon season 3 episode 8 review first.

There has been a lot of talk of The Prince that Was Promised in House of the Dragon. The prophecy comes from Aegon the Conqueror's Dream, which foretold that many years after the death of all dragons, one Targaryen prince would wake the beasts and defeat an evil force from the Long Night.

In Martin's works, the prophecy is kept secret. But in the season 3 finale, Rhaenyra announces it to the world. In a bid to gain the support of the smallfolk and justify her legitimacy, the Queen announces, "I am The Prince That Was Promised!" (admittedly, in High Valyrian, but the cat is already out of the bag before that). However, Condal has his reasons for this.

"It's something that is certainly not in the book, and it's not in the history, but there is a bunch of talk about how Rhaenyra became very despotic and became a tyrant at the end and was very unpopular with the people," explained Condal in a House of the Dragon season 3 press conference attended by GamesRadar+. The showrunner said that this could well have happened, but because she doesn't outright reveal Aegon's dream, and as no one really knows what she is talking about, it wouldn't have made historical record.

"But my sort of toss-off from the historians is 'Oh well, Targaryens say crazy shit all the time'" said Condal, jokingly, adding that the townsfolk probably thought that Rhaenyra was just trying to prove her legitimacy once again. So, why include it at all? "We wanted something that felt like a real seismic change, a sea change in Rhaenyra's relationship to her people," added Condal. The statement also ties in to the shocking murder Rhaenyra is responsible for right before. You can read our House of the Dragon season 3 ending explained for more on that.

"This old Valyrian faith of dragons and fire gods and blood magic, and pronouncing herself as the chosen one, the leader that is going to take them through the fire and out of the darkness." Of course, Game of Thrones fans will know that Rhaenyra is not the Prince That Was Promised.

House of the Dragon season 3 is streaming now on HBO Max and NOW. For more, check out our guide to House of the Dragon season 4, and keep up with all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and shows.

7 years after the controversial Game of Thrones season 8, new play The Mad King might answer a major question about Daenerys Targaryen.

The following will contain spoilers for the play, so turn back now if you don't want to know the details!

GamesRadar+ attended the new play, which has just opened in the UK's Stratford-Upon-Avon, and we learned more about the circumstances surrounding Daenerys's birth. Her father, the Mad King himself Aerys Targaryen, believes that the prophesied Prince that was Promised – who will unite the realm against the threat of the White Walkers, as foreseen by Aegon the Conqueror – must be a third-born child. Aerys already has two children, Rhaegar and Viserys, when a red star appears in the sky. Believing it to be an omen, Aerys demands his wife Rhaella be brought to him. The resulting child is Daenerys.

However, Aerys is a cruel and abusive husband. Rhaella, crying out in rage after the Kingsguard come to take her to him, says that she does not want to birth the prophesied prince, but rather the "scourge of the world," and "a vengeful daughter, whose wrath will return dragons and set the realm ablaze."

Now, in both George R.R. Martin's books and the TV shows, Daenerys brings dragons back to the world by hatching her three eggs in Khal Drogo's funeral pyre. Arguably, this is born of Daenerys's wrath, considering one of the sacrifices she makes to bring her dragons to life is Mirri Maz Duur, the midwife who tricked her into a magical bargain that killed her husband and unborn son. So, that portion of Rhaella's desperate wish is fulfilled.

However, what's not clear is whether Daenerys will fulfil an apocalyptic role in Martin's books, as she does in Game of Thrones season 8. In the final season, Daenerys burns King's Landing to the ground with her dragon Drogon, before claiming the throne (and being murdered by Jon Snow shortly afterwards). Whether Daenerys's book storyline will mirror the show and end in the Mother of Dragons breaking bad and burning King's Landing is still a matter of debate among A Song of Ice and Fire fans.

The Mad King, then, seems to support those who argue that Daenerys will indeed burn King's Landing in Martin's novels, should they ever be completed.

Though, prophecies often trip up Martin's characters, so it's possible this is another red herring. After all, there's a lot of leeway in "set the realm ablaze" – this could be figurative, referring to Daenerys burning down the old structure of power in Westeros, for example. Or, it could refer to riding her dragons into battle. And, Rhaella is overcome with emotion and could simply be screaming her own desires, which don't reflect on her future daughter at all. It doesn't necessarily mean we can expect Mad Queen Dany in the books. (Personally, I've always sided with the theory that King's Landing will burn thanks to Cersei and the wildfire caches).

Plus, Martin has been clear before that only his novels are canon. While the play was made with his involvement, it's still only really a semi-canon source – though we can assume that, like the TV show, it gives us big hints about what's to come in The Winds of Winter and beyond.

So, we can't say for sure if Daenerys will go full dracarys in the books and burn King's Landing and all its people… but Rhaella's words certainly lend credence to the theory that her book arc will mirror what became of the Mother of Dragons in the TV show.

Game of Thrones: The Mad King is playing at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from now until September 5, 2026. For more on the play, check out our guide to 16 things we learned about Game of Thrones from The Mad King.

You can keep up to date with the world of Westeros with our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

House of the Dragon season 3 has come to a fittingly shocking conclusion, and it may well spell doom for Rhaenyra Targaryen.

Spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3, episode 8 follow! Turn back now if you haven't seen the episode yet!

In the finale, Helaena, who has been held captive and isolated throughout the season, throws herself from the Red Keep to her death. Speaking at a press conference attended by GamesRadar+, Emma D'Arcy, who plays Rhaenyra, expanded on what that means for their character.

"Helaena is the moral heart of the show, I think," D'Arcy reflected. "Maybe the only character who has a proximity to power but remains uncontaminated. And so, I think her death condemns Rhaenyra to the path she's chosen: no way back after that. There's certainly no route back to a more moderate form of leadership. And I don't know where we go from here, but I imagine it's likely to be impassable in her relationship with Alicent, which I think also means Helena's death condemns Rhaenyra to be alone in her pursuit for power."

In the episode, Rhaenyra's tenuous grip on the crown is threatened even further when news breaks that Aegon is still alive. This prompts Rhaenyra to arrange a coronation – and have the High Septon killed when he refuses to play along. Later, Rhaenyra finds a tapestry woven by Helaena – a dragon dreamer who could see the future – that depicts Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne, dripping blood and surrounded by flames and dying dragons.

"I was just thinking about Rhaenyra, her rejection of the Seven and murder of the High Septon, and this attempt to reject other legitimizing institutions," adds D'Arcy. "And in a funny way, Helaena's power of sight is another institution of legitimacy. I guess I just love the simplicity of looking at a document that could be hugely illuminating, but choosing to chuck it on the floor. Feels very odd."

When asked if the window Helaena jumps from is the same as the window Tommen Baratheon stepped to his death from in Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal clarifies, "It's a different set," but acknowledges: "Echoes and reflections and parallels, for sure, to be drawn between the two series."

For more on the show, check out our guide on everything there is to know about House of the Dragon season 4, as well as our House of the Dragon season 3 ending explained.

House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal says season 4 is going to be the best and biggest one yet... and we're waiting with bated breath after the season 3 finale.

Warning: Spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3 episode 8 below!

"We have an incredible season coming," Condal says during a press conference attended by GamesRadar+. "As crazy and big as season 3 was, I think Season 4 is going to be even bigger. It's a great privilege to be able to tell a story, and to be able to control and write the ending, and to control when and where that happens. This is not a given in making television, certainly. We're very excited to get back in. We have new characters, and new dragons and new locations all to come, that I think are gonna make it a very worthy final season. And I'm looking forward to doing it with one of my favorite people in the world, Emma D’Arcy."

House of the Dragon season 3 saw Rhaenyra slowly descend into power-hungry madness as she put on the crown and dared to stop anyone in her path who opposed. In the finale, Rhaenyra goes as far as to order the death of the High Septon, as he refused to anoint her as the true ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. Why? Because Aegon is still alive, and if that's not a "sign from the gods," then I don't know what is.

House of the Dragon season 4 will likely take us all the way to the end of the Dance of Dragons, the tumultuous civil war between Team Black and Team Green. I won't tell you what happens to Rhae in the books but, well, it's Game of Thrones. So, naturally, we can expect a largely unhappy ending for every single character (even the dragons).

House of the Dragon season 3 is streaming now on HBO Max and NOW. Make sure you don't miss the season 3 finale with our House of the Dragon season 3 release.

House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal says Aegon had every opportunity to take revenge... but that it wouldn't have signified any growth in his character.

Spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3 episode 8 'The Dragon in Winter' lie ahead.

"That would be no fun," Condal says during a press conference attended by GamesRadar+, when asked why Aegon didn't kill Aemond when the two reunite in the House of the Dragon season 3 finale. "He's learned a lot in Season 3 here, Aegon. And even though he's still angry with his brother and has agendas, I think what he realized in his evolution is that he does deserve a lot of the things that happened to him, probably in some way, and, had to learn how to be a better king, and perhaps that… he needed to be away and walk amongst the people as a pauper.

"I mean, the irony of the season is that Aegon, now not in the proximity of the throne, goes on this incredible character evolution where he becomes a much more dimensionalized man, who is more sympathetic and possibly more suited to rule, and then Rhaenyra in the proximity of the throne, is turned and altered and somewhat corrupted by being in its orbit."

Because Aemond attempted to kill Aegon, his own brother, and his brother's dragon Sunfyre, one could conclude that Aegon then had every right to turn around and kill Aemond in an act of revenge. In House of the Dragon season 3 episode 8, Aemond himself even seems surprised when Aegon decides against it. Instead, Aegon suggests that he, Aemond, and Alys go find Vhagar and enter the battle themselves. However, we don't see Aegon and Aemond again in the episode after this moment.

Condal continues: "So, I think if Aegon had shown up and just killed Aemond, it really would not have marked the growth in the character. It's him seeing Aemond's change, and then realizing where he is standing with his dragon, and suddenly this incredible wind of legitimacy behind him, now that the realm is calling him the, you know, the second… he's basically… he's experienced a messianic return. I think it would ruin and spoil that for him to kill the person that's potentially his greatest and strongest ally."

It's also book-accurate, seeing as Aemond doesn't die until later on in the Dance of Dragons, during what's known as the Battle Above God's Eye. During the battle, Aemond, while riding Vhagar, and Daemon, while riding Caraxes, fight to the death – with Daemon ultimately driving his sword into Aemond's eye (presumably the good one). Aegon outlives his brother, sure, but then is ultimately assassinated via poison towards the very end of the war. Rhaenyra's son Aegon III then takes the Iron Throne.

Since the fourth and final season of House of the Dragon is expected to take us all the way to the end of the war, we can expect to see all of this play out in its true horror on screen.

House of the Dragon season 3 is streaming now on HBO Max and NOW. Make sure you don't miss the season 3 finale with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule.

House of the Dragon season 4 may be a couple of years away, but we're already counting down the days to the Dance of the Dragons' final act. We've known for a while now that House of the Dragon season 4 will be the show's last and, unlike its once-celebrated sister show, Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon has the benefit of a complete George R.R. Martin story to draw from. So hopefully, this one will stick the (king's) landing.

House of the Dragon is coming to an end, but the World of Westeros is going nowhere. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 is already in the can and expected to release early 2027, while there are a number of upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows in the works. Of particular note for House of the Dragon fans: an Aegon's Conquest movie, which will tell the story of Rhaenyra's infamous ancestor.

For the time being, you'll find everything you need to know about House of the Dragon season 4 below, from what's known about the plot, who's in the cast, speculation on when it might release, and more. While we wait for new episodes, be sure to check out our House of the Dragon season 3 finale review and our House of the Dragon season 3 ending explained.

House of the Dragon season 4 release date speculation

All we know for now is that House of the Dragon season 4 will release in 2028. A more precise date is pure speculation for now. However, we can make an educated guess.

Since the first season dropped in 2022, House of the Dragon has released like clockwork every two years, with season 2 hitting screens on June 16, 2024, and season 3 releasing on June 21, 2026. And that's despite the 2023 Writers' Guild of America strike heavily impacting production on season 3. So, it's a relatively safe bet that House of the Dragon season 4 will hit screens around June 2028 at the latest.

Writing is at least well underway on season 4. "We're actually starting to show HBO [the scripts]," Ryan Condal said at a season 3 press conference attended by GamesRadar+. "This is our early iteration. I don't put the script down and take it away from me in production, and we have many months ahead of that. But we're as far ahead at this point in crafting a new season while we're still posting the old one."

Is House of the Dragon season 4 the final season?

Yes, House of the Dragon season 4 is the show's final season, which Condal confirmed back in 2024 just after season 2 aired. This was later reiterated by HBO CEO Casey Bloys in February 2026.

"We know when and where we're going to end. We've been able to plan and write to that for a long time now," Condal told us exclusively ahead of House of the Dragon season 3, earlier this year. "The biggest gift that [Fire and Blood] has given to us as writers of the show, and also to the fanbase that so fervently follows it, is it is a complete tale."

House of the Dragon season 4 cast

There were some major casualties in season 3, including Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett), who perished in the Battle of the Gullet; Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), who died unsung in a field; and Ormund Hightower (James Norton), who took a knife up the, well, you know where, and was incinerated by Ulf, just what he deserved. So don't expect any of those to return.

At the moment, no new cast members have been confirmed for season 4. But based on who survives season 3, the House of the Dragon season 4 cast is shaping up like this:

• Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen
• Emma D'Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen
• Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower
• Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon Targaryen
• Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen
• Matthew Needham as Lord Larys Strong
• Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon
• Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria
• Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull
• Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull
• Bethany Antonia as Baela Targaryen
• Phoebe Campbell as Rhaena Targaryen
• Kieran Bew as Hugh Hammer
• Tom Bennett as Ulf the White
• Jefferson Hall as Tyland Lannister
• Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers
• Freddie Fox as Gwayne Hightower
• Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Daeron Targaryen
• Dan Fogler as Ser Torrhen Manderly

House of the Dragon season 4 plot speculation

Note: the following speculation does not contain book spoilers.

The House of the Dragon season 3 finale ended in, well, fire and blood as Ulf rained dragonfire indiscriminately down on both sides during the Battle of Tumbleton. With the battle brought to an abrupt end, Daemon on Caraxes and Hugh Hammer on Vermithor pursued Ulf on Silverwing; expect this chase to be quickly resolved in season 4.

Of the major dangling threads, Aegon's newfound alliance with his kinslayer brother Aemond will undoubtedly have huge ramifications in season 4. As will Helaena's decision to take her own life (and that of Aegon's unborn son), rather than live under duress in Rhaenyra's Red Keep. Given Rhaenyra's already shaky grasp on power, the return of Aegon and the slaughter of the High Septon is unlikely to endear the smallfolk to Rhaenyra's righteous cause.

Daeron's fate, and that of his dragon Tessarion, are also left ambiguous at the end of season 3, as a barely alive Gwayne is left searching for his nephew among the ashes of Tumbleton. Given that the Hightower forces have been burnt to a crisp, however, it's not like the young prince has much power behind him. Even his brother, Aegon, seems unhappy that Daeron tried to claim the throne.

At a season 3 finale press conference attended by GamesRadar+, Condal teased a "very worthy" final season. "We have an incredible season coming," Condal said. "As crazy and big as season 3 was, I think Season 4 is going to be even bigger. We have new characters, and new dragons and new locations all to come."

At the same press conference, Condal also addressed how Aegon and Rhaenyra have practically swapped places in their quests for the Iron Throne, heading into season 4. "I mean, the irony of the season is that Aegon, now not in the proximity of the throne, goes on this incredible character evolution where he becomes a much more dimensionalized man, who is more sympathetic and possibly more suited to rule, and then Rhaenyra in the proximity of the throne is turned and altered and somewhat corrupted by being in its orbit."

Is there a House of the Dragon season 4 trailer?

House of the Dragon season 4 is yet to go in front of cameras, so there's no season 4 trailer just yet, and likely won't be for quite some time.

The first trailer for House of the Dragon season 3 was released in April 2026, around three months before the season 3 premiere. So expect a full season 4 trailer around spring 2028, and perhaps a brief glimpse in HBO's 2028 preview trailer, which we'd expect to drop mid-December 2027.

For more on House of the Dragon, check out our House of the Dragon timeline and our breakdown of the Targaryen family tree.

You can watch the show on HBO Max in the US and on HBO Max and NOW in the UK.

The Targaryens have come to town. The Royal Shakespeare Company's new production, Game of Thrones: The Mad King, is now playing in the UK's Stratford-Upon-Avon, and it's a hugely ambitious, intensely immersive spectacle that every George R.R. Martin fan should experience at least once.

Adapted by Duncan MacMillan and directed by Dominic Cooke, the play is set just before the events of the original novels (and TV show) and chronicles the fateful tourney at Harrenhal. This occasion saw Rhaegar Targaryen crown Lyanna Stark the queen of love and beauty – and kickstart a bloody civil war that ended with Robert Baratheon ascending the Iron Throne and the Targaryen line near-annihilated.

The play is stunningly grand in its approach, choosing not just to adapt the tourney itself but also the entirety of Robert's Rebellion. The result is a breathtaking, engaging, and thrilling 3 hours and 40 minutes of action, drama, and tragedy.

Welcome to Westeros

On approach to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, on a beautiful sunny summer's day in William Shakespeare's birthplace, Stratford-Upon-Avon, a digital sign above the entrance way welcomed me to Westeros. Inside the auditorium itself, the immersion began immediately: moody ambient music played in the background and a brazier in the center of the stage – two intersecting catwalks with the audience seated all around – crackled with flames. It helped that I was seated so close to one of these catwalks that my shoulder was literally touching its edge, truly part of the action.

Indeed, from the very first scene, which introduces Rhaegar Targaryen riding on horseback to the boom of dramatic music and the blaze of bright lights, it was impossible to think of anything but what was unfolding on stage only inches away.

The scale of the production is simply staggering: the horses are massive puppets that move seamlessly down the stage under the guidance of multiple puppeteers, the costumes range from lush gowns to sturdy armor with beautifully painted house sigils, and the action is impeccably choreographed. I was not merely watching Westeros: I was in Westeros, a bystander to legendary points of the Seven Kingdoms' history, powerless to intervene as tragedy and triumph alike unfolded before me.

The production makes full use of its massive set-up, too: one group of characters might be delivering dialogue while two Kingsguard knights lurk in the background, heads bent together, scheming quietly. For while the tourney is a pageant for the ages, it's also a chance for Rhaegar to overthrow his father Aerys Targaryen, better known as the Mad King.

Classic Thrones

The first act of the play recalls classic Game of Thrones – with hints of this year's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, thanks to its tourney setting – because of its interest in such character moments and the realm's complicated politics. Like early Thrones, Act 1 revels in putting its players together and letting them talk. This is where Harmony Rose Bremner's Lyanna Stark shines: Lyanna has always felt like a shadow of a woman in A Song of Ice and Fire to me, since so much of her story is wrapped in mystery and her untimely death. In The Mad King, she is beautifully, joyfully alive, a bold and outspoken sister to the Stark brothers and a wilful character who wants to forge her own destiny, chafing at the life of a traditional highborn lady and her betrothal to Robert Baratheon.

Bremner's Lyanna has true chemistry with Noah Ritter's Rhaegar, too: a standout scene comes when Rhaegar asks her to dance, and Lyanna admits she's more of a fighter than a dancer. Undeterred, Rhaegar teaches her the steps as if they were sparring, and so the spark of a momentous romance and the coming rebellion is born.

Rhaegar, too, comes to fascinating life in the play, a mournful, serious young prince who feels the weight of destiny and duty alike. He believes himself to be the Prince that was Promised, but he also, far more practically, knows his father is unfit to rule and the time to seize the crown is now.

Other standouts include Elizabeth Ayodele's confident and complex Elia Martell, Michael Abubakar's utterly endearing Eddard Stark (who spends Act 1 insisting on being called Ned, worlds away from the grim, duty-driven man we meet in the main series), and Maxim Ays's young, conflicted Jaime Lannister, but it's Michael Shaeffer's Mad King who truly steals the show.

Shaeffer's Aerys is humanized to an almost painful degree, introduced with wildly long hair, fingernails like claws, and covered in gashes from sitting on the Iron Throne. He's a capricious, cruel, and often hilarious monarch, but one who can be overcome with trauma and grief, and one who loves his eldest son – his only redeeming quality. Maybe the most moving scene in the entire play is a quiet but forceful moment between Rhaegar and his father, as Rhaegar cuts the Mad King's unruly hair and trims his horrifying nails.

Robert's Rebellion

It's in Act 2 that The Mad King perhaps finally overreaches itself. Act 1 works beautifully because it's a contained, character-driven story, but when the show expands to the action of Robert's Rebellion, almost by design it loses some of this closeness. Naturally, a stage show can't capture the entirety of a brutal civil war, which means we are served only snapshots. I can't help feeling like something is lost by the play glossing over the actual outbreak of the civil war, instead picking up after Robert's Rebellion has begun, too.

Characters are separated by geography, so conversation is swapped for communicating via raven, and often the players react to things they hear second-hand rather than being directly involved. But the action remains superb (the fateful clash at the Trident in particular is astonishing) and the show still finds time for deeply moving, intimate moments – the women of the play singing a hymn to the Mother, begging for protection for their sons and daughters in a time of war, brought a tear to my eye.

It's here that Ays's Jaime Lannister becomes most compelling, too, as his conscience wars with his duty. Ays's take on the character is more innocent than the Jaime of the main series, and watching his development as the war and the Mad King both spiral out of control is heartbreaking and deeply captivating.

The wars to come

What I was most intrigued by heading into The Mad King was its potential for seismic lore revelations, and I was not disappointed. Mysteries that have fuelled fan speculation for decades are finally unveiled (I even overheard one happy theatregoer telling another that the play answered every question he had on the way out). This means that The Mad King isn't very newcomer-friendly, which is no real surprise, and is also something of a strength: no time is wasted recapping plot points or the relationships between characters we know well already. However, the sheer wonder on display is likely more than enough to enthral anyone less familiar with the lore.

The biggest barrier to watching The Mad King is, of course, its location, and, after being so completely blown away, I'm hoping a West End and Broadway future is on the horizon – as well as a professional recording for those who still can't make the trek – because this extraordinary production deserves to be seen by the biggest audience possible.

But Stratford-Upon-Avon and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, with all their historical and dramatic pedigree, truly feel like the truest of homes for this play: the drama and tragedy are fittingly Shakespearean, after all.

For 3 hours and 40 minutes, I was fully transported to another world of knights and dragons and magic as Martin's incredible fantasy realm came to life before my eyes – and that's worth every mile of the journey.

Game of Thrones: The Mad King is playing at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from now until September 5, 2026.

You can keep up to date with the world of Westeros with our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

New play Game of Thrones: The Mad King chronicles the story of the tourney at Harrenhal and Robert's Rebellion, ending around 15 years before the events of the main A Song of Ice and Fire books and the Game of Thrones TV show.

Naturally, that means it reveals plenty about the lore of George R.R. Martin's series – and, below, we've rounded up the 16 biggest revelations from the play. Of course, Martin has said before that only the books are canon, so that means the play might not perfectly match up with revelations in the long-awaited Winds of Winter and beyond, especially considering Martin himself did not write the play. But, considering Martin's involvement in the stage show, we can assume the below is largely in line with his plans.

We'd also say that reading about the plot can't hold a candle to seeing it for yourself, so, if you're able, make your way to Stratford-Upon-Avon and watch The Mad King in all its glory. However, if that's not possible, we've got what you need to know below. That means there are major spoilers ahead, so turn back now if you don't wish to know more.

Everything we learned about Game of Thrones from The Mad King

The Prince that was Promised

In the play, it's revealed that the prophesied Prince that was Promised – who will eventually unite the realm against the threat of the White Walkers, as foreseen by Aegon the Conqueror – must be a third-born child. This is the meaning behind "the dragon has three heads," or at least that's how King Aerys sees it. Rhaegar Targaryen believed himself to be the Prince that was Promised, as he was born amidst the salt and smoke of the doomed Summerhall – smoke of the fire as Summerhall burned, and tears of the grieving.

When a red star appears in the sky later in the play, Lyanna Stark, in the Tower of Joy with Rhaegar, sees this as a sign, as does Aerys. Both Rhaegar and Lyanna, and Aerys and his wife Rhaella Targaryen, conceive a child this night: a third born child for Rhaegar named Jon Snow, and a third born child for Aerys named Daenerys. So, both Jon and Daenerys continue to fit the prophecy.

Jon Snow

Jon Snow is very different in the play compared to the TV show. For one thing, he is not named Aegon Targaryen in The Mad King. Lyanna Stark dies before she can name him, and instead Ned Stark names him after Jon Arryn of the Vale, who fostered him and Robert Baratheon as children. Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna are also not shown to get married in the play, meaning Jon is most likely still a bastard (unlike in the show, where he was revealed to be the true heir) – however, Elia Martell does make reference to always being fine with the idea of Rhaegar taking a second wife, so it's not entirely clear if Rhaegar and Lyanna are considered wed or not. Either way, no marriage ceremony is shown onstage.

Those who know Jon's true identity are Ned, Howland Reed, and Benjen Stark. While Jon is still an infant, Benjen says Jon will never be safe until he joins Benjen at the Wall, meaning it was always the plan for Jon to take the black.

Daenerys Targaryen

On the night Daenerys Targaryen is conceived, her mother, Rhaella Targaryen, raging against being forced to sleep with the abusive Aerys, shouts that she does not want to birth the prophesied prince but rather the "scourge of the world," and "a vengeful daughter, whose wrath will return dragons and set the realm ablaze." In the TV show, Daenerys burns King's Landing, a plot point that remains controversial to this day. Rhaella's declaration in The Mad King certainly lends credence to the argument that Daenerys's book plot is likely headed in a similar direction.

Rhaegar and Lyanna

It might not come as a huge surprise after the TV show, but Rhaegar and Lyanna do indeed love each other, and Lyanna went willingly to the Tower of Joy. What we do learn, though, is that Lyanna is a true believer of the Prince that was Promised prophecy, even after Rhaegar begins to lose his faith. In fact, Rhaegar argues "I made a choice that could not have been foretold" by running away with Lyanna, believing himself in control of his own destiny at last. Of course, he seems to be wrong.

Lyanna also tells Ned, as she lays dying from childbirth, that she wants to go home. This explains Ned's insistence on burying Lyanna at Winterfell, even though Robert Baratheon declares he will never forgive Ned for doing so.

The House of the Undying

In A Clash of Kings, Daenerys Targaryen travels to the House of the Undying Ones after her dragons are kidnapped. Inside, she has fantastical visions – and one is of her older brother, Rhaegar Targaryen, and his second-born child, his son Aegon. When Rhaegar's wife Elia asks Rhaegar to make a song for their son, Rhaegar replies: "He has a song. He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire." Then, Martin writes, "He looked up when he said it and his eyes met Dany's, and it seemed as if he saw her standing there beyond the door."

In the play, when Rhaegar speaks these words, he does indeed look up to see an open door. In the doorway stands a woman with long silver hair, with three dragons behind her. She's not identified by name in the play, but it seems very obvious that this is Daenerys. So, Rhaegar did see his younger sister through time.

Rhaegar and Lyanna's dreams

Both Rhaegar and Lyanna have prophetic dreams. Lyanna dreams of a dragon, and Rhaegar has a vision of Daenerys when Aegon is born, then later sees a dragon and Lyanna while fighting Robert Baratheon on the Trident.

Plotting against Aerys

The tourney at Harrenhal was indeed a smokescreen to hide a plot against Aerys, spearheaded by Rhaegar Targaryen – a popular, semi-textual fan theory. Members of the Kinsguard are in on it, along with Elia Martell. The Starks join Rhaegar before the tourney ends, despite Aerys unexpectedly arriving halfway through, throwing a wrench in the conspirators' plans. Everything soon blows up in Rhaegar's face when he and Lyanna Stark flee to the Tower of Joy together, sparking Robert's Rebellion.

Summerhall

One of the greatest mysteries in the books is what exactly happened at Summerhall. What we do know is that King Aegon V – better known as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' Egg – starts a devastating fire while trying to resurrect dragons, and many of the Targaryens die. Rhaegar was born in Summerhall, which is why he believes he is the Prince that was Promised, since he fits the "born amidst salt and smoke" part of the prophecy (the salt of the tears of the grieving and the smoke of the fire). While The Mad King doesn't reveal much more about Summerhall, it does show us that Aerys is still heavily traumatized by what happened, as he speaks of seeing his grandsire, Egg, burn alive. And, Rhaella, Rhaegar's mother, has burn marks from rescuing her son from the blaze.

The Knight of the Laughing Tree

A mystery knight with a laughing tree as their sigil enters the lists during the tourney, inflaming Aerys's paranoia. The Mad King reveals that this mystery knight is none other than Lyanna Stark, a popular fan theory, and that she enters the lists because Howland Reed was attacked by the bannermen of some of the nobles participating. She reveals her identity to Rhaegar, who covers up her involvement with his father. Lyanna uses a laughing tree as her emblem because the Weirwood tree in Winterfell has laughing faces.

Elia Martell

Elia Martell's marriage with Rhaegar is purely political, and she has her own lover, Ashara Dayne. Elia even says she encouraged Rhaegar to take a second wife, as Aegon the Conqueror did, and have a wife for duty and a wife for love. However, Rhaegar and Lyanna running away together causes many, many issues – including for Elia, who ends up a captive, and is then murdered along with her children. Before her death, Elia communicated with Lyanna in the Tower of Joy via raven, urging her to tell Rhaegar to end the war.

Rhaenys's prophecy

Elia and Rhaegar's daughter, Rhaenys, says what Elia thinks is gibberish but is actually a disturbing prophecy. Elia reveals that Rhaenys speaks of a river of rubies and a mountain in their room – the river of rubies refers to the rubies that spray from Rhaegar's armor into the Trident river when he is killed by Robert Baratheon, and the mountain is the Mountain himself, Gregor Clegane, who murders Elia, Rhaenys, and Aegon. So, Rhaenys is foreseeing her parents' deaths.

Jaime Lannister

Jaime Lannister is an enthusiastic member of the Kinsguard at first. What we didn't know about his appointment, though, is that Rhaegar begs his father not to name Jaime to the order, since it would inflame tensions with Tywin Lannister – who is already at odds with the crown. Later, Rhaegar warns Aerys again that Jaime could be dangerous. Rhaegar's feelings on the Lannister knight do change eventually, though, as he tells Jaime to await his return as he departs for the Trident, implying they can overthrow Aerys afterwards (as happens in the books).

The play backs up what Jaime himself reveals in the main series, showing he was truly devoted to protecting the innocent during his early time as a knight of the Kingsguard. He puts himself between his brothers in arms to defend Rhaella, Elia, and Ashara from them – and, of course, later kills Aerys when Aerys demands Tywin's head and King's Landing burned. However, the play differs from the books when Jaime chooses to sit the Iron Throne. In the books, when Lannister men find Jaime and the dead king, they ask whether Tywin, Robert Baratheon, or another Targaryen should be crowned king. In the play, the Lannister men merely ask if they should proclaim a new king, implying the new monarch could be Jaime. Jaime then ascends the throne and dons his lion helm, as if trying it out for a moment, before yielding it when Ned arrives, as happens in the books.

Bran Stark

Ned Stark hears a disembodied voice shout "father" twice in the play, and, the second time it happens, he is at the Tower of Joy. While this has yet to happen in the books, it does happen in the TV show: Bran Stark, watching what happens at the Tower of Joy, calls out to Ned, and Ned hears. So, this seems confirmation that Bran will use his powers to discover the truth of Rhaegar and Lyanna's relationship and Jon Snow's parentage.

Ashara Dayne

Ashara Dayne is not only revealed to have been in love with Elia Martell, but she also had a bastard child with Brandon Stark. It's strongly implied in the books that Ashara and a Stark had a child, but now we know for sure. Sadly, the child was stillborn. So, while Ashara and Ned do dance together at the tourney, there was no attraction between them: it was always Brandon and Ashara.

The Trident

At the fateful battle of the Trident, Rhaegar Targaryen repeatedly tries to get Robert to surrender on the promise of a pardon. Robert continues to fight, consumed with rage. Rhaegar is eventually killed because he has a vision of a dragon, as well as of Lyanna. He calls to her, explaining why her name was his last word.

King Aerys

We learn some fascinating new details about the Mad King, too. He truly loves his son Rhaegar and is devastated to learn of his death, saying, "brave boy, I have him still in my arms," and "all this is for you, Rhaegar, my boy." Not only that, he's also traumatized by Summerhall. He even urges Rhaegar to kill him at one point, though Rhaegar can't bring himself to do it.

Game of Thrones: The Mad King is playing at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from now until September 5, 2026.

You can keep up to date with the world of Westeros with our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

One House of the Dragon season 3 fan has worked out just how many characters still need to die before the show ends with season 4 – and it's a lot.

Only one episode remains of season 3, and, if season 4 also has eight episodes, that leaves only nine left for the entire show.

A warning that the following will contain major spoilers from George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood, so turn back now if you're not up to date!

"There's only 9 episodes left…. how are they gonna kill off all of these characters and the dragons without it being just a constant run of death scenes? How are they gonna kill Stormcloud when buddy is off in Pentos??" asks one fan on Twitter.

They add: "Literally they have to kill Rhaenyra, Daemon, Joffrey, Mysaria, Addam, Ulf, Hugh, Ormund, Daeron, Helaena, Aegon2, Aemond, all the dragons, and maybe Jaehaera depending on how they end the series. 12 + the dragons, in just 9 episodes."

"They're gonna speed run the ending like D&D did with GOT and it's gonna ruin everything more than it already is," says someone else. "Either that or they're taking the Stranger Things 5 route and making every episode movie-length"

"It's gonna be such a logistical nightmare for writers like why are we stalling," says another person.

"They're probably just not going to hit all those points and people should start making peace with it now lol," says another fan.

However, not everyone is worried. "Daemon, Aemond, Caraxes, and Vhagar all die together. Mysaria, Helaena, and a bunch of dragons will be offed in quick succession. I don't know if the showrunners will want two Battles of Tumbleton, so Hugh, Ulf, and Ormund might not make it to next season," points out one person.

"Ormund, Addam, Ulf, Hugh & Daeron die same episode with their dragons. Aemond & Daemon die same ep. Helaena, Mysaria & Joffrey die same ep, possibly same ep as Aemond and Daemon. Rhaenyra dies penultimate, Aegon dies finale. That's 4, possibly even 3 episodes," argues someone else.

It certainly seems like season 4 will be packed with major deaths – though the season 3 finale also has plenty of scope for a bloodbath.

House of the Dragon season 3 continues weekly on HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK, and HBO in the US.

You can keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule, and, for even more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

Even when it comes to blogging, George R.R. Martin is not especially prolific. The beloved Game of Thrones creator has posted an increasingly rare update on his Not a Blog blog for the first time since February, and we're still none the wiser about when The Winds of Winter will finally release.

"This year has been… stressful, to say the least," started a sombre Martin, who noted that he has "lost friends" and "battled sadness and depression" during his time away. Back at the beginning of the year, Martin gave an interview to The Hollywood Reporter where he revealed, in frank terms, that his relationship with House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal is "abysmal" and that the show is "not my story any longer," no doubt a contributing factor to that stressful year.

It's not all been doom and gloom for Martin, however. He's still closely involved with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms as the show's co-creator, and dedicates much of his latest blog post to celebrating that show's nine Emmy nominations, with the caveat that "I was hoping we'd get a few of the acting nominations as well. But there's always next year." A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 is close to completing production. In fact, Egg star Dexter Sol Ansell recently revealed he's already wrapped filming.

What Martin, pointedly, doesn't offer is any kind of update on The Winds of Winter. The long (long) awaited next chapter in Martin's mammoth A Song of Ice and Fire saga is set to follow 2011's A Dance With Dragons. But, over 15 years on, we're none the wiser about when the book will actually release. And it's not even the final Game of Thrones book that Martin needs to write, with A Dream of Spring expected to follow.

At 77 years old, you can hardly blame Martin for slowing down somewhat (OK, a lot) when it comes to his writing. However, he has been keeping plenty busy. As well as a hands-on role with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, that show's co-creator, Ira Parker, has suggested that Martin is currently penning a fourth Dunk and Egg novella. A new Game of Thrones play, The Mad King, is also currently in previews in the UK, and is set in the final years before the events of the novels.

As for The Winds of Winter, Martin previously welcomed imprisonment if he didn't finish the much-anticipated book by a certain deadline. And that deadline passed 6 years ago...

The House of the Dragon season 3 finale releases on HBO Max in the US on August 9, and on Sky and NOW in the UK on August 10. You can keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule.

For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and shows.

House of the Dragon has made a number of divisive adaptive choices in bringing George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood ot the screen, but arguably the most significant has been keeping Helaena off her dragon, Dreamfyre. And now one of the show's regular directors has weighed in on the contentious decision.

Spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3 episode 7 'The Dragon in Winter' lie ahead.

During the latest episode, dreamer Helaena Targaryen has a series of potentially prophetic visions. In one, Helaena is finally seen on the back of her dragon Dreamfyre, as hundreds of citizens storm the dragonpit in King's Landing. This is noteworthy because the show's version of Helaena, much like her grandfather, King Viserys, refuses to ride her dragon, fearing the corrupting power of controlling a living nuclear weapon.

Now, the episode's director, Nina Lopez-Corrado, has gone some way to explaining the controversial adaptive change, and what that vision could mean. “Helaena has such a strong feeling about the dragons in which she’s torn because she thinks that they do change people and that they’ve changed their whole world, essentially,” Lopez-Corrado told Entertainment Weekly. “So when she sees herself on the dragon and sees Dreamfyre basically take out all of King’s Landing, internally for her it burns deep.... I think she knows that deep down inside, because she is a Targaryen, there almost is no positive outcome to anything that’s happening in regards to this war in this family. And the dragons, as long as they exist, are going to keep this inner turmoil inside of the Targaryens.”

The changes to Helaena's story are something of a sore spot, as they are at the heart of George R.R. Martin's infamous "toxic butterflies" blog post. In the post, Martin explained that seemingly small changes to season 2's Blood and Cheese sequence would have serious repercussions down the line, with the absence of Helaena's son, Prince Maelor, from the scene a particular sticking point.

Showrunner Ryan Condal seems to be making good on his promise to Martin to "postpone" Maelor's introduction, however, as Helaena is currently pregnant with the young prince. Martin, and the fandom at large, however, have been concerned ever since about the show's home stretch in light of such potentially catastrophic deviations.

With just one episode left to go, House of the Dragon season 3 lived up to its title this week. Not only did we get our first proper glimpse of Dreamfyre, but there was also a four-way dragon battle in which Sheepstealer was almost killed. Aegon's dragon, Sunfyre, was also revealed to be alive, though, much like his rider, he's now looking a lot worse for wear after his season 2 run-in with Vhagar.

House of the Dragon season 3 is streaming now on HBO Max and NOW. Make sure you don't miss the season 3 finale with our House of the Dragon season 3 release.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showrunner says we won't be seeing much of the Harfoots in season 3 of the hit Prime Video show.

"It was time for them to take a little bit more of a backseat," co-showrunner J.D. Payne said in the issue of Empire. "But I will also say: never count a Halfling out."

We last saw the Harfoots in The Rings of Power season 2 episode 8, when Nori and Poppy were rescued by the Stranger... who, in a surprise twist, turned out to be none other than Gandalf.

The new season, however, jumps forward five years and takes us straight into the War of the Elves while Sauron, now the Dark Lord, works on crafting the One Ring. Per the official synopsis: "Now, all the free peoples of Middle-earth – Dwarves, Elves, Men, and Wizards alike – must find a way to come together, in a race against time to prevent Sauron from achieving his goal of utter domination of all life…"

It's also worth noting that the Harfoots have received some pretty mixed reviews from fans, with some saying that their overly jolly, cartoonish vibe is tonally different from the rest of the show. With how high the stakes are in season 3, however, it's easy to see why we wouldn't have time for another big Harfoot storyline (especially now that Gandalf has officially been introduced into the series).

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 is set to hit Prime Video on November 11, 2026, kicking off with four episodes. For more, check out our guide to the best Amazon Prime shows to watch right now.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 will cover several huge events in the canon, including focusing more on the "civil war brewing" in Numenor. As part of this storyline, the showrunners have confirmed that a major character will make an appearance: Elros.

Speaking to Empire magazine, Patrick McKay revealed that Elrond's brother Elros will appear in a flashback scene. He'll be played by Elrond star Robert Aramayo as well and it will reveal more about the founding of Numenor.

A half Elf, Elros was the first King of Numenor after choosing to live as a mortal after being given the choice by the Valor about which Kin he would rather belong to. He lived for 500 years, ruling Numenor for 410 of them, and founding the important Middle-earth kingdom.

Fun fact too, Elros' bloodline leads to Aragorn eventually, making him a hugely important part of the Lord of the Rings canon. The showrunners didn't reveal anything more about how Elros will be brought into the story, but Numenor's future is a hugely important storyline in the era that the Rings of Power is covering. We won't spoil anything here, but we expect it to play a big part in season 3 and the upcoming season 4 as well.

Aramayo's other role as Elrond will also be in a different place when the new season starts. He told Empire: "This season is an interesting one. Elrond's got his own little gaff now. He's got his own little place in Rivendell. I was really excited that the show was going to bring it in."

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 begins on November 11, 2026, kicking off with four episodes. For more, check out our guide to the best Amazon Prime shows to watch right now.

Many years ago, A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin promised fans could imprison him if the sixth book in the series, The Winds of Winter, hadn't arrived by a certain deadline – and that deadline is now six years in the past.

"As for finishing my book… I fear that New Zealand would distract me entirely too much. Best leave me here in Westeros for the nonce," Martin wrote on his Not a Blog page in May 2019. "But I tell you this – if I don't have THE WINDS OF WINTER in hand when I arrive in New Zealand for worldcon, you have here my formal written permission to imprison me in a small cabin on White Island, overlooking that lake of sulfuric acid, until I'm done. Just so long as the acrid fumes do not screw up my old DOS word processor, I'll be fine."

Worldcon was held from 29 July to 2 August 2020, however, thanks to COVID, it was switched from an in-person event to virtual.

Now, as you might have noticed, Martin's July/August deadline passed exactly six years ago, and there's still no Winds of Winter.

In fact, the wait for the sixth book has now surpassed the time it took to release all five books so far.

"I would hate that," Martin previously said of the prospect of giving up. "It would feel like a total failure to me. I want to finish. If I wound up doing everything in my head, this could be the longest book in the series."

But, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms showrunner Ira Parker has indicated that Martin is currently working on a fourth Dunk and Egg novella. So, here's hoping that arrives in the near future.

House of the Dragon season 3 is currently dropping weekly on HBO in the US and HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK. You can keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule.

For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and shows.

A new House of the Dragon character who just killed off a major player in the Dance of Dragons has never actually been introduced to the audience.

Warning, the following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3, episode 6!

In the latest episode, Criston Cole is ambushed by Team Black, and his request to go out in a blaze of glory is denied. He is instead shot dead with three arrows – though, the mysterious figure who killed him is actually a mystery to everyone watching along.

Book readers might recognize her as Alysanne Blackwood, AKA Black Aly, though her name hasn't been spoken on the show, and she's only really been in the background until now. She also hasn't actually spoken yet, apart from singing two lines of a song in episode 2 (as pointed out in a now-removed Reddit post).

Still, there are two episodes of House of the Dragon season 3 left, so there's plenty of time for Black Aly to get her proper introduction. After all, now we know her face.

As we get closer to the end of season 3, it looks like Rhaenyra could be in trouble – she cut her finger on the Iron Throne, Aemond Targaryen and Alys Rivers have formed an unusual alliance, and Ormund Hightower has declared Daeron Targaryen the rightful king.

"I think a lot of Daeron's experience through that episode and the upcoming episodes, without spoiling anything, is just, when's the breaking point?" Daeron actor Benjamin Evan Ainsworth told us in a recent interview. "He's held a tremendous amount of tension and tremendous amount of patience with Ormund, and now with a figure like Gwayne around, and with his dragon Tessarion, who he has this deep affection and friendship with, who he hasn't been able to see, who has been in the Sept tied up, and so, when is it too much?"

House of the Dragon season 3 continues weekly on HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK, and HBO in the US.

You can keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule, and, for even more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

As House of the Dragon season 3 continues, a surprise character is emerging as a new fan favorite.

The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3, episode 6, so turn back now if you're not up to date!

In the latest episode, Gwayne Hightower reaches Tumbleton after abandoning Criston Cole in the previous installment (with perfect timing, too, considering Criston meets his unceremonious death in the opening minutes of the new episode).

At Tumbleton, Gwayne reunites with his nephew Daeron Targaryen, and it's quickly clear that they have a much closer – and healthier – relationship than Daeron and Ormund Hightower. Plus, Gwayne thwarts an assassination attempt on Daeron (after enduring plenty of insulting comments from Ormund).

"Gwayne has become one of my favorites, I'm so glad he left Cole's side when he did," says one fan on Reddit.

"Him talking in the hallway with Daeron was heartbreaking," says someone else. "For all that people complain about 'filler,' I love this character development."

"Daeron and Gwayne having instant familial chemistry is the mark of really good acting by both of them. They haven't been on screen together yet but the characters have a long history and I definitely felt that in their scene together," is another fan's take.

"Gwayne literally took no shit from Ormund. He wasn't afraid of him or his tantrums, he spoke the truth at his face and really kept his patience with Ormund-the-man-baby," says another fan. "Gwayne has been a treat since the first episode he appeared and I am glad the writing has been consistent about his character."

"Yeah I really disliked him when he first appeared in the show and now he's one of my favorites. A tribute to his actor," is another person's thoughts.

"Yes, he definitely came off as an arrogant ass at first, with the way he spoke down to Criston. You can see how the realities of war really broke down that kind of thinking. In front of dragons, they are all equally and simply men. Great character development," says another person.

"Gwayne is unexpectedly becoming the one person I'm keeping a tight prayer circle for during the Dance alongside Helaena," says another fan.

"Gwayne is probably my favourite character from Team Green. Hoping he survives, however unlikely it seems," agrees someone else.

Gwayne Hightower dies in the fall of King's Landing in the book, which means his future on the show is a complete unknown. Here's hoping he makes it…

"I think they're both parental figures, Gwayne and Ormund, and Gwayne is more brotherly, and Ormund is more domineering, and so we see a different kind of love and a different side of Daeron comes out when he's with Gwayne," Daeron actor Benjamin Evan Ainsworth told GamesRadar+ recently.

"Something more transparent, something more true to who he is as a person, and almost this frustration that comes from just this weight that he's been holding of being around Ormund, having to be very calculated about what he says, what he does, when he does it, because he knows that Ormund has this rage that could be unleashed at any moment," he continued. "And Gwayne is someone that he's been able to talk to, but I think the difference being, he's come back war hardened and out the fight, and usually he's his person [Daeron] can confide with.

"And I think just playing those different relationships and being able to explore the different sides of Daeron with Freddie Fox, but then also with James [Norton], has been really fun."

House of the Dragon season 3 continues weekly on HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK, and HBO in the US.

You can keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule, and, for even more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

House of the Dragon season 3 has featured another shocking, major death – but, this time, fans are celebrating.

The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3, episode 6. Turn back now if you're not up to date!

In the new episode, Ser Criston Cole is unceremoniously killed off in unexpected fashion in the opening scenes. Now, book readers might have seen this coming thanks to some ironic foreshadowing in the last episode, but, otherwise, it's a shocking moment.

Criston is ambushed by soldiers from Team Black who are playing dead, and then, after challenging his opponents to a duel, he is shot dead by arrows.

The kingsguard knight hasn't exactly been a fan favorite over the years, which means, now that he's gone, House of the Dragon fans are celebrating.

"Dude had so much plot armor there for awhile, I'm glad they just dropped the axe like that," says one fan on Reddit, commenting on a post titled "fucking finally."

"I loved that he tried to challenge an old man and a young boy to hand-to-hand combat in a last ditch Hail Mary at dying honorably in battle and they were just like haha no man, you're defeated already. Thank god they didn't take him up on his ridiculous demand and just shot him dead instead smh," says another person.

Someone else has noticed some poetic justice in the death, too. "Funny that he went the same way as Jace, right down to the number of arrows," they say. Jacaerys was killed in the Battle of the Gullet.

"Good job Criston Cole, you got your wish. Good riddance," says another fan, while another says: "Thank god he's FINALLY dead."

House of the Dragon season 3 continues weekly on Sky, NOW, and HBO Max in the UK, and HBO in the US.

You can keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule, and, for even more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

It might be hard to believe, but House of the Dragon season 3 only has two episodes remaining.

A big focus of the season has been Tumbleton, which is starting to feel like something of a powder keg. Spoilers for episode 6 follow.

Ormund Hightower is undermining Rhaenyra's authority in King's Landing with his attacks on the gold cloaks and his claims that Daeron Targaryen is the new rightful king, while the dragonseeds Ulf the White and Hugh Hammer lurk outside the town – and, in episode 6, assassins even come for Daeron, but are foiled by Gwayne Hightower.

GamesRadar+ caught up with Daeron actor Benjamin Evan Ainsworth on Zoom to talk about the show, and we asked what's coming up for Tumbleton as the finale gets closer.

"I think every episode, at least for my character, the stakes are raising tremendously," he says. "We go from, I suppose, being a squirely figure in Ormund's life, and then being posed as a king, and then having a coin with his face made on it, to then an assassination attempt in this episode. And I think if you follow that trajectory, Tumbleton's looking like a very hostile place.

"And so, yeah, I think a lot of Daeron's experience through that episode and the upcoming episodes, without spoiling anything, is just, when's the breaking point? He's held a tremendous amount of tension and tremendous amount of patience with Ormund, and now with a figure like Gwayne around, and with his dragon Tessarion, who he has this deep affection and friendship with, who he hasn't been able to see, who has been in the Sept tied up, and so, when is it too much?

"And I think a decision of who he wants to be, and I guess leading with his moral compass, or not, and which direction to go through, I think are the questions in his head at the end of episode six," Ainsworth shares. "You'll have to wait and see how that unfolds."

House of the Dragon season 3 continues weekly on HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK, and HBO in the US.

You can keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule, and, for even more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

So far in House of the Dragon season 3, young prince Daeron Targaryen has been under the thumb of his guardian Ormund Hightower out in Tumbleton.

But, in the latest episode of the Game of Thrones prequel, the situation gets slightly more complicated. Daeron's uncle Gwayne Hightower comes to Tumbleton after breaking away from Criston Cole, and it's immediately clear that Gwayne is far more of a positive influence on Daeron than the authoritarian Ormund. Spoilers for episode 6 follow.

"So far, any scene with Daeron has had Ormund Hightower within it, which I think says a lot about their relationship, really," Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, who plays Daeron, tells GamesRadar+ when we meet over Zoom.

"There's not a lot of space, and, despite Daeron being an isolated character – he was sent away from his family, away from the politics, but also away from his mother, and all that comes with that, for better or for worse – he's also cramped within this position. The image of Tessarion chained up in Tumbleton's Sept feels like a symbol that makes sense for Daeron's internal experience with Ormond.

"And I think they're both parental figures, Gwayne and Ormund, and Gwayne is more brotherly, and Ormund is more domineering, and so we see a different kind of love and a different side of Daeron comes out when he's with Gwayne," Ainsworth continues. "Something more transparent, something more true to who he is as a person, and almost this frustration that comes from just this weight that he's been holding of being around Ormund, having to be very calculated about what he says, what he does, when he does it, because he knows that Ormund has this rage that could be unleashed at any moment. And Gwayne is someone that he's been able to talk to, but I think the difference being, he's come back war hardened and out the fight, and usually he's his person [Daeron] can confide with.

"And I think just playing those different relationships and being able to explore the different sides of Daeron with Freddie Fox, but then also with James [Norton], has been really fun."

Perhaps the most horrifying moment in Daeron and Ormund's relationship so far came when Ormund forced Daeron to execute an innocent man in Tumbleton, down in the secrecy of the Sept.

"It's manipulation at its worst," Ainsworth says of the moment. "And I think there's a certain part of Daeron which is aware of it and has seen it. He is aware of when things are going wrong, we saw that when he sends away the other squire, so he doesn't get hurt by the rage that's about to come out in episode four. I think, as twisted as it seems, it's something [Daeron] feels like he has to do to get out of this situation.

"There's no other option he feels in that moment, but also, there's almost like a pride which Ormund has with him afterwards, which he kind of yearns for as a character," Ainsworth explains. "And it demonstrates how twisted and fractured their relationship is, that Daeron is willing to do what Ormund wants because he doesn't have that loving figure in his life, and so looks for that through Ormund.

"It was really fun to play, but also, I guess, gut-wrenching to then watch back from an outside perspective. But, yeah, it's really lovely to work with people like James Norton because they give you something really specific every single take, and it's different every take, and so you can almost just follow them on the ride and see how the take unfolds," Ainsworth says. "And sometimes it would end in a moment of, almost, love at the end of of that scene, of like a shared affection that [Ormund] was proud of what I had done, and I know what I have done is terrible – and I wouldn't do it – but the pride he feels is shining onto Daeron. So, yeah, it's definitely a turning point. It's when he figures out he's going to be styled as king, which then starts a barrage of new questions of who he is and who he wants to be."

House of the Dragon season 3 continues weekly on HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK, and HBO in the US.

You can keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule, and, for even more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

The Rings of Power season 3 will be jumping ahead five years when the Lord of the Rings show returns to Prime Video. According to co-showrunner Patrick McKay, this is actually an "advantage" for them and gives the show "a jolt of adrenaline".

Speaking at San Diego Comic-Con 2026, McKay said: "I mean, it's pure advantage. We love the idea that even if you've maybe never seen the first two seasons, season 3 is a great place to jump in because the stories are starting in a brand new spot. You know, if you're a fan who loved the first two seasons, that's wonderful, and now you can see where everybody has gone in five years."

He added at the roundtable attended by GamesRadar+: "This character is now friends with this character, and they've moved over here, and oh my gosh, the war seems to have been gone for a while here. An entire realm got built in Rivendell, an entire tower got built in Barad-dûr, in Mordor. So it's an opportunity to just kind of give your storytelling a jolt of adrenaline. Hit the ground running from the first minute of season 3 and hopefully never let up."

The Rings of Power season 3 trailer was released at San Diego Comic-Con and showed Sauron heading to Mordor to create the One Ring. It also introduced a whole new host of characters, including Jamie Campbell Bower's Celeborn, Galadriel's long-lost husband.

The new season begins on Prime Video on November 11 with a four-episode drop. Two episodes will then air weekly until the finale, which marks a very different approach to the show's previous release schedule. However, it does mean that it will be wrapped up by the time that Blade Runner 2099 begins on Prime Video on November 25.

For more from SDCC, check out our San Diego Comic-Con 2026 live coverage as well as our breakdown of the SDCC 2026 schedule.

Stranger Things star Jamie Campbell Bower is playing a notorious Lord of the Rings character in The Rings of Power season 3 as he steps into Celeborn's shoes. The Elven warrior is Galadriel's husband, but he has been absent from the story so far.

It's now been confirmed that this will be addressed in the new season through an "epic" flashback. Speaking at San Diego Comic-Con, co-showrunner Patrick McKay shared the insight, explaining how we'll see a new side to Galadriel in the upcoming third season.

"You've gotten to know Galadriel as one character over multiple seasons, but whenever there's anyone who's really important in your life, that person brings out other qualities in you, and you see different things when someone is with someone that they really love," he tells GamesRadar+ and other press at a roundtable. "So bringing in Celeborn, you start to see this whole other part of Galadriel."

McKay added: "We're going to go back to the First Age when they first met in this really romantic, beautiful, epic scene. And then we're going to understand what has happened to her and why she has had this descent that she has had in the time since he's been gone. And then getting to see him come back again, you'll see again a totally different part of her begin to come out and flourish."

We do see a glimpse of this scene in The Rings of Power season 3 trailer, as Galadriel and Celeborn dance in a forest, surrounded by golden lights. The pair have been separated for hundreds of years when he returns in season 3 and he must join the fight quickly against the rising darkness.

For more on what's been revealed at SDCC, check out our San Diego Comic-Con 2026 live coverage and our SDCC 2026 schedule.

One of the biggest ongoing mysteries in The Rings of Power will be answered early on in season 3. The identity of Ciarán Hinds' Dark Wizard will be revealed in the new season, showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have confirmed.

When asked by GamesRadar+ at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 whether we'll be finding out his identity, Payne promised: "We are! That's all we can say." Then his co-showrunner McKay gave an even more intriguing tease: "You'll find out, and you might find out sooner than you think."

It seems like we won't be waiting too long then into The Rings of Power season 3 to finally have some answers. While they didn't reveal the exact timings, the first four episodes will be released at once on November 11 so we're guessing there may be some big reveals in there.

There has been a lot of speculation about who the Dark Wizard really is, with some even wondering if he was Gandalf before the Stranger's big reveal. However, we know who he definitely isn't: Lord of the Rings character Saruman. .

"Well, I wonder if we can make news on this one. We can say definitively he is not Saruman. Definitively, 100% he is not," McKay told GamesRadar+ after season 2, while Payne teased: "I think we can say we do know who he is."

Elsewhere during our conversation at SDCC, the showrunners also teased their plans for season 3 – and where it stands in their timeline. "We always thought of this as one, five-season story that aspires to the epic, or even the mega-epic," McKay explained at a roundtable attended by GamesRadar+. "And when you watch any story or read any book at first you're not sure who's who. Is that a bad guy is that a good guy, what's their agenda, what's that person's real identity sometimes? That's always how things unfold."

He continued: "As we thought about the first two seasons, we thought about them as the first act of a huge three-act story, and sometimes in the first act you don't know who everybody is yet. But now the joy of a third season is actually, everybody's out in the open. The masks are off. We have full metal, evil dark lord Sauron. We have Gandalf appearing much more similar to his iconic, third age, novelistic appearance. And those are just the gifts that keep on giving as storytellers."

For more, check out the new The Rings of Power season 3 trailer. You can also follow along with out San Diego Comic Con 2026 live coverage and our SDCC 2026 schedule to not miss a moment.

Simon Pegg's Balrog will be "an intelligent, strategic, dangerous adversary" in The Rings of Power season 3.

Balrog, voiced by Pegg, was teased at the tail-end of The Rings of Power's second season, where the Mines of Moria – and King Durin's madness – uncovered the fiery creature lying in wait.

But whereas most Tolkien and Lord of the Rings fans may know him as the one who fought Gandalf in an epic duel, The Rings of Power's latest season will seemingly show a new side to the fearsome foe.

"So, creatures in Tolkien talk, full stop. And the Balrog is not just a monster; it's not a mindless beastie. This is an intelligent, strategic, dangerous adversary, and we think of him as a character," co-showrunner Patrick McKay teases at The Rings of Power's Hall H panel at SDCC 2026 – with GamesRadar+ in attendance.

"And every season, we want to show a different side of him, a different facet of him that you've never seen before. And we are crazy, stupid, or wild enough to imagine that this season he should have a scene with Sauron."

Perhaps teasing a spark that would soon become Sauron's meddling in Mount Doom, McKay adds. "I don't want to give away the game, but you know Balrogs know how to live in fire and be on fire and live. And if Sauron goes into a volcano to forge a ring, that might be a kind of dark magic that he would need to understand. He essentially goes to the Balrog to try to learn this power, and it also found a really cool opportunity to show another side of Sauron's character. Because Sauron is a Maiar, he's constantly interacting with people who are, in some ways, just a different class of being than him. The Balrog is the same class of being, so it's Maiar versus Maiar in this, and it's something that Sauron generally has to respect."

The Rings of Power season 3 premieres on Prime Video on November 11. Stay up to date with this year's San Diego Comic-Con with our SDCC 2026 live blog and our SDCC 2026 schedule.

The first trailer for The Rings of Power season 3 is finally here, and it's sees Sauron crafting the One Ring to rule them all.

Beginning with Mount Doom, the trailer promises the most dramatic season yet as we see the Dark Lord begin the task, stating, "Now is the mightly hour come." Much of the first focuses on Sauron's journey to creating the One Ring as Middle-earth tries to battle the rising darkness. Elsewhere, we see Celeborn and Galadiel reunite, Gandalf warning about death to come, and epic battles on the way. "The shadow rises in Middle-earth, how would you like to rise with it?" Sauron asks.

The trailer dropped during San Diego Comic-Con 2026, and it wasn't the only thing revealed in the Lord of the Rings show's panel.

Excitingly, some major casting news also dropped. Eddie Marsan will play King Durin IV's older brother Thrain, Andrew Richardson will play Elendil's son and Isildur's brother Anarion, while Adam Young is Marnûkh, billed intriguingly as "a mysterious Orc who may not be what he seems."

Most excitingly of all, however, is the reveal that the Balrog will return, and it'll speak for the first time. And, it'll be voiced by none other than Simon Pegg.

The official synopsis for season 3 reads: "Middle-earth is at war. Five years have passed since the fall of Eregion. Sauron's armies have marched across the whole of the world, conquering all in their path. Only a few isolated pockets stand between the Dark Lord and total victory – Khazad-dûm, where the Dwarves are now sealed deep within their mountain halls, and the elven realms of Lindon and Rivendell, which are protected by their Three Rings. But deep in the land of Mordor, in his newly completed tower of Barad-dûr, the Dark Lord toils day and night, obsessed with harnessing a power that will bring the last of his enemies to their knees: One Ring to rule them all...

"Now, all the free peoples of Middle-earth – Dwarves, Elves, Men, and Wizards alike – must find a way to come together, in a race against time to prevent Sauron from achieving his goal of utter domination of all life…"

The Rings of Power season 3 arrives on Prime Video this November 11 with four episodes dropping at once. Then, episodes 5 and 6 arrive on November 18, and finally the remaining two episodes land on November 25.

While you wait, check out our guides to the most exciting upcoming shows and upcoming movies, as well as our SDCC 2026 schedule, SDCC 2026 live-blog, and SDCC 2026 predictions to make sure you don't miss a second of the action in San Diego.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power's Celeborn star says Sauron puts a real damper on his and Galadriel's reunion in season 3, suggesting he may use the relationship against the elves.

"The reunion between the two of them is deeply impactful, particularly for Celeborn. And I think, you know, with Galadriel, it's the memory, and the hope of their reunion has really been the thing that's been keeping him alive," said Celeborn star Jamie Campbell Bower at San Diego Comic-Con 2026, attended by GamesRadar+. "With this time and distance between them, they've got a lot to catch up on."

However, what should be a happy moment between Celeborn and Galadriel may turn sour, as Bower suggests Sauron may use the two's emotions against them. "Sauron, from my perspective, and as we know, he uses that which you hold most dear against you," added Bower, "that definitely creates some complications for Celeborn for sure."

Celeborn is finally joining The Rings of Power season 3 after being absent from seasons 1 and 2. The news broke just days before SDCC, but fans already had a feeling Bower would play the long-lost elf. In the Lord of the Rings franchise, Celeborn is Galadriel's husband, but in the series, they have been separated for hundreds of years. We have already seen Sauron manipulate Galadriel in order to get what he wants, so we wouldn't put it past him to somehow ruin her happiness this time around.

Sauron will truly be getting up to no good in season 3, as aside from meddling in Galadriel's relationship, we will finally see the Dark Lord forge the One Ring.

Also announced at the SDCC 2026 Prime Video panel, Gandalf star Daniel Weyman shed some light on what the wizard has been getting up to in the time jump between The Rings of Power season 2 and 3. After hanging out with Tom Bombadil, Weyman says, "I think we will agree-he has arrived in season three. He's in his power. He has agency. He's the Gandalf."

The Rings of Power season 3 arrives this November 11 on Prime Video. Stay up to date with this year's San Diego Comic-Con with our SDCC 2026 live blog and our SDCC 2026 schedule.

At SDCC 2026, some exciting new The Rings of Power season 3 news has been announced.

Along with a brand new trailer, three new cast members have been revealed.

Not only is the Balrog set to return, but it'll be voiced for the very first time, and Simon Pegg will be lending his vocal talents to the magical beast.

The Balrog lives in the Mines of Moria and claimed King Durin's life in season 2. Clearly, then, it's set to play a big role in season 3...

Also joining the cast are Eddie Marsan as Durin IV's older brother Thrain, Andrew Richardson as Elendil's son and Isildur's brother, Anarion, and Adam Young as an Orc named Marnûkh. Strangely, he's billed as "a mysterious Orc who may not be what he seems." Just what that means remains to be seen...

These newcomers join Jamie Campbell Bower as Celeborn and Zubin Varla as Khamûl the Easterling of Rhûn.

"This idea of longing and yearning is so pervasive in Tolkien's relationship with Edith [his wife] for the time that they were apart," Bower has shared of his character, who is Galadriel's long lost husband. "I really feasted on that idea. Celeborn has had to find a way to survive whilst longing for something that he so dearly loved and so dearly missed as well."

The Rings of Power season 3 arrives on Prime Video this November 11 with four episodes dropping at once. Then, episodes 5 and 6 arrive on November 18, and finally the remaining two episodes land on November 25.

While you wait, check out our guides to the most exciting upcoming shows and upcoming movies, as well as our SDCC 2026 schedule, SDCC 2026 live-blog, and SDCC 2026 predictions to make sure you don't miss a second of the action in San Diego.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 star Daniel Weyman has teased how Gandalf will play into the series going forward. Speaking during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con, the actor revealed that the iconic Lord of the Rings character has "arrived".

"We've seen in this in this time gap between season two and season three-he's been sitting around with Tom Bombadil," Weyman said at the panel attended by GamesRadar+. "He's been trying to learn his stuff, and he can't make a sense of these riddles that Tom keeps coming up with. But he is-he is learning. I think we will agree-he has arrived in season three. He's in his power. He has agency. He's the Gandalf. I think we all hopefully know and love, and that means that as he tries to influence what's going on in Middle Earth as the darkness is rising."

Weyman also teased a bit about what Gandalf will be doing in the upcoming season. "He's on the lookout for people whose hearts have been chilled, that have been frozen," he added. "He's going to try and rewarm them. He's going to rekindle them to like a place where they can where they can grow and they can love again. So hopefully, we're going to be watching him through season three, work all ways of helping to defeat [Sauron]."

Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay also teased what to expect from the new season at the panel and were in attendance with plenty of the cast, including Benjamin Walker, Charlie Vickers, Jamie Campbell Bower, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Owain Arthur, and Ismael Cruz Cordova.

The third season features a big time jump from season 2 as we head into a new era of war between the Elves and Sauron. This is also the season where we finally get to see the Dark Lord forging the One Ring to rule them all, a key moment in Lord of the Rings history.

Speaking ahead of SDCC, McKay told Empire that the filming this was "the single most ambitious, technically challenging sequence we've ever done on the show. Charlie’s performance is absolutely staggering. We never could have prepared for it."

Elsewhere, we also got our first look at Gandalf in all his glory, following on from his reveal at the end of season 2. He appeared on a side of a bus making its way through San Diego wearing his signature hat.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 begins on Prime Video on November 11. Check out our SDCC 2026 schedule and follow along with our San Diego Comic Con 2026 live coverage.

For more, check out our guide to the best Prime Video shows as well as our SDCC wish list for what we hope is revealed this year.

Good news for Dunk and Egg fans – a fourth novella is in the works, according to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms showrunner Ira Parker.

So far, three Dunk and Egg novellas have been published, but Martin has shared outlines for up to 12 novellas with Parker.

When asked by The Hollywood Reporter about HBO's thoughts on his wish to adapt the three existing novellas then break for a few years to let stars Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell get older, Parker said: "I mostly get eye rolls, though not completely. And look, it'll be a function of how, you know, well the show continues to do, or continues not to do. Every season's going to be a little bit different. What people want in their television shows changes all the time."

Then, he revealed a fascinating tidbit: Martin is writing the series again. "But yeah, I'd love to expand it from three seasons to maybe four or five. Book four, which George is working on, takes place in a very cool location. And five is the last story point of Egg as a boy," he shared. "So it's a very natural ending place for us to take a break and come back when Dexter is older. So then we can do Egg the Prince, do some politics, do some fun stuff in Summer Hall and King's Landing, and get a different vibe where they're not on the road all the time.

"So if the show wraps and people are still OK with everything we're doing and there's still an appetite, let the show evolve along with our leads, with myself and with the rest of our creative team as we grow older and the world changes and we want to say different things. I think that would be a lovely way to tell a story about these two guys through the course of their lives," he said.

Martin notoriously has not finished his A Song of Ice and Fire series, with the wait for The Winds of Winter now surpassing the wait for all five published books so far. The Winds of Winter isn't even the final planned book, either: that would be A Dream of Spring.

"I would hate that," Martin has said of the possibility of giving up. "It would feel like a total failure to me. I want to finish."

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 will arrive next year, while House of the Dragon season 3 is currently ongoing.

House of the Dragon season 3 continues weekly on Sky, NOW, and HBO Max in the UK, and HBO in the US.

You can keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule, and, for even more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

It's taken three seasons, but a major Lord of the Rings character is finally debuting in The Rings of Power season 3.

Celeborn, husband of Galadriel, will be introduced in season 3 and played by Jamie Campbell Bower, as revealed by Empire magazine. Bower's role has been completely secret up till now.

Speaking to the magazine, Bower described Celeborn as a "lover-boy" and says his relationship with Galadriel is inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien and his wife Edith.

"This idea of longing and yearning is so pervasive in Tolkien's relationship with Edith for the time that they were apart," he said. "I really feasted on that idea. Celeborn has had to find a way to survive whilst longing for something that he so dearly loved and so dearly missed as well."

Galadriel and Celeborn have been separated for hundreds of years, so it certainly seems like a joyous reunion is on the cards.

"He has this voice that is rich and hypnotic and sonorous that feels it has the wisdom of the ages buried inside of it," co-showrunner J.D. Payne shared. "And then we did a chemistry read [with Clark], and instantly it just felt like he loved her so much. It felt so natural, and so organic, and so right."

A new – and very romantic – picture of the duo has also been released, which you can see below.

The Rings of Power season 3 arrives this November 11 on Prime Video. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming shows worth keeping an eye on to fill out your watchlist.

The Rings of Power season 3 is releasing later this year and will showcase one of the most pivotal moments for Middle-earth. The showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne confirmed that the forging of the One Ring will play a big part in the upcoming episodes.

Speaking to Empire Magazine, McKay explained: "This is the season where Sauron makes the One Ring in the volcano." Adding that filming it was "the single most ambitious, technically challenging sequence we’ve ever done on the show. Charlie’s performance is absolutely staggering. We never could have prepared for it."

Now that is some statement for a show that last year staged a multi-episode battle that took weeks to film. We're expecting big things then from the moment Sauron turns full villain this year – and actor Charlie Vickers also told the publication how excited he is for it.

He added: "The first day I walked onto that set, I cried. "What an amazing privilege and honor to be able to tell that story."

We're still several months away from the third season, but news is starting to come in thick and fast ahead of the San Diego Comic-Con panel (check out our SDCC 2026 schedule for when that is).

We recently got our first look at Gandalf in his hat too in an unexpected way. There's also been news that a fourth season is already in the works, reportedly, and filming could begin pretty soon.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 begins on November 11. For more, check out our list of the new TV shows arriving in 2026 and our selection of the best shows on Prime Video right now.

House of the Dragon season 3 got off to an explosive start with the Battle of the Gullet and Rhaenyra finally taking King's Landing, but the Game of Thrones spin-off's pace dropped considerably in the aftermath – and episode 5 is concerning fans.

One person took to Reddit to lay out their concerns about how the show is playing out, saying, "I honestly enjoyed the new episode quite a bit, but I'm growing incredibly concerned about the show's pacing moving forward."

The problem, in their view, is compounded by the shorter season length. "What I just watched didn't feel like the fifth part of an eight part season, or even like the third part of a six part season if you just call the first two the finale of the last season. That felt, to me, like the third episode of a ten episode season. The pace is way too slow for where the story needs to be right now," they say, before noting concerns with how the pacing might affect telling the rest of the story in the confirmed season 4.

"I'm so tired of these short ass seasons," says one person in response, with another saying: "And they take two years between seasons even though they are much shorter. I hate it."

"I don't want the pacing to be faster I want more episodes," says someone else. "I just finished it and I was thinking the same thing. I paused the show to get a refill of my drink and saw I had ten minutes left in the episode and I was just like 'are you f***ing kidding me'. Then I did the math and I was like ok so the next three episodes must be JAM PACKED with action right up until the last second of the season finale otherwise what are we even doing. This is silly as hell. And it's gonna be two years til we get the next season- I'm just so incredibly disappointed. But yes, I agree these episodes are fantastic- just not for an eight episode run"

"I wouldn't be as upset as I have been over the past three nothing burger episodes if we were getting a 15 episode season," says another fan.

"For real. If season 4 has eight episodes that means there are only 11 episodes left. How are they possibly going to wrap it up in 11 episodes?" points out someone else.

The episode mainly seemed to be setting up future problems: the targeting of the gold cloaks, Daeron and Ormund Hightower in Tumbleton, and Criston Cole continuing to march. There was precious little payoff, however.

House of the Dragon continues weekly on HBO in the US and HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK. Keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule.

For even more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

House of the Dragon season 3 continues this week with another episode that teases steadily building tension. While no battles break out in this installment, it looks like a climactic showdown is looming thanks to some seriously ironic foreshadowing.

Below, we've broken down the moment and what it means – but that means there are major spoilers ahead for George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood. Turn back if you don't want the fate of a major character spoiled!

If you're still reading, then you're ready to dive in and find out what the latest episode of House of the Dragon season 3 sets up. For more, check out our House of the Dragon season 3 review.

House of the Dragon season 3, episode 5 foreshadows an major book death

In the episode, Ser Criston Cole walks for miles with the green army and Alicent Hightower's brother, Gwayne Hightower. Towards the end of the episode, Gwayne realizes that Criston is in fact hoping to march to his death.

Criston gives a rousing speech, in which he declares, "I am the realm's greatest warrior, and I will die as such, clear-eyed, unbent, glorious in battle, and not in their service, finally, but in my own." He even hopes songs of his death reach Alicent.

However, George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood reveals a different fate for the Kingsguard knight. He and his host are confronted by the black army, and Criston unsuccessfully tries to negotiate for the lives of his men if he surrenders.

Criston then tries to battle against his three challengers, declaring, "One of me against three of you. Will that be enough to make a fight of it?" But, he doesn't get the epic death he wants. One member of Team Black, Longleaf the Lionslayer, signals archers and three arrows swiftly strike Criston dead.

"I'll have no songs about how brave you died, Kingmaker," says Longleaf. "There's tens o' thousands dead on your account."

So, Criston's grand hopes in this episode all come to nothing, because an anticlimactic death is awaiting him... and no songs will reach Alicent.

House of the Dragon continues weekly on HBO in the US and HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK. Keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule.

For even more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

After two years of 'is he, isn't he', The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 will go full Gandalf after season 2 finally confirmed that Daniel Weyman's Stranger was, in fact, the grey wizard all along. And now we have our first glimpse of Weyman in full Istar garb… thanks to an ad on the side of a San Diego Comic-Con tram.

As snapped by SD_Comic_Con over on Twitter, the image features Weyman sporting a familiar-looking hat and holding Gandalf's instantly recognizable gnarled staff. The beard, of course, is still intact. Check it out below.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 is set for a full reveal at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, with Weyman, Sauron star Charlie Vickers and showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne among those set to appear during Saturday's panel. Prime Video is pairing the Rings of Power panel with a first look at their sci-fi sequel series Blade Runner 2099, making it one of the convention's hottest tickets. We'll be reporting live from the ground. Head over to our constantly updating San Diego Comic-Con 2026 schedule to make sure you don't miss a minute.

The Rings of Power returns to screens this November. A first look at season 3 was released in May, featuring Vickers' Sauron wearing Morgoth's Iron Crown, seemingly Annatar no more. Exact plot details are currently thin on the ground, but we do know season 3 is set to feature a time jump following the events of season 2, and will take place at the height of the War of the Elves and Sauron.

The Rings of Power season 2 ended with the Stranger finally learning his true identity after much soul-searching across Middle-earth, and Sauron securing all nine rings for himself after defeating Galadriel. There are also some interesting newcomers joining the cast this season, including Deadpool 2's Eddie Marsan, Andrew Richardson and Stranger Things star Jamie Campbell-Bower. We don't know who they're playing yet, but Campbell-Bower has been teasing fans about his mystery character.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 begins on November 11. San Diego Comic-Con 2026 kicks off on July 23. Check out our list of all the new TV shows arriving in 2026 and beyond, as well as our round-up of the best shows on Prime Video right now.

House of the Dragon season 3 has introduced a stack of new characters, including Ser Gwayne Hightower, and although he may be Team Green, fans think he is secretly a good guy and would have sided with Dunk in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

Now, Gwayne, played by Freddie Fox, actually made his House of the Dragon debut in season 2 as Alicent's arrogant brother and Otto Hightower's son. But so far in season 3, it seems as though he isn't that bad. A number of times now he has pulled up Ser Criston on his bizarre choices. This change of heart has led many fans to believe that if Gwayne were in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, he would have done the right thing and sided with Ser Duncan in the Trial of the Seven, just like Baelor Targaryen did.

"I would like to think so. Fits his personality," said one fan on Reddit, and another replied, "He would most definitely be taking Dunk's side if he had to choose," highlighting what the knight said to Criston in House of the Dragon season 3 episode 3, after he caught one of the soldiers assaulting a village girl. Gwayne said, "A punishment is due, but also a statement to the men. That we are not beasts, but knights, and soldiers of honor."

However, others seem to think the apple doesn't fall far from the Hightower. "I don't think he will. As honorable as he is, he is a Hightower, and they don't treat commoners as their equals," added another Reddit user.

The Trial of the Seven is the ultimate test of whether the characters are able to stand up for what is right. After finding Aerion Targaryen beating Tanselle, Dunk strikes the prince. As punishment, the knight is challenged to a trial where he and six of his men must fight Aerion and six of his men. However, when Dunk failed to gather enough soldiers, Baelor Targaryen joined his team and made the ultimate sacrifice in doing so.

We will never know what Gwayne would have done in that situation. However, Hightower has plenty of time to prove himself in House of the Dragon season 2, as he continues to fight for a cause and for a team he doesn't seem to believe in.

House of the Dragon continues weekly on HBO in the US and HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK. For exact timings, see our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule, and keep up with all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows on the way.

The latest episode of House of the Dragon season 3 addresses one of George R.R. Martin's complaints about the show.

Spoilers for season 3, episode 4 follow. Turn back now if you're not up to date!

In the episode, Alicent discovers that Helaena is pregnant. This is quite a big problem for both green women, considering they're currently (very well treated) prisoners in the Red Keep, which is now under the control of Rhaenyra and Team Black.

In Martin's Fire and Blood, Helaena has three children – Jaehaerys, Jaehaera, and Maelor. Jaehaerys was killed during Blood and Cheese, and Jaehaera is still alive, so it would seem Helaena's pregnancy is introducing Maelor.

Maelor is present during Blood and Cheese in Martin's book, but the show cut him entirely. This was one of Martin's major complaints in his now notorious blog post railing against changes the show made to his source material.

"Will any of that appear on the show? Maybe… but I don't see how," Martin said of Maelor's story in the book, and the butterfly effect of removing him. "The butterflies would seem to prohibit it … From what I know, that seems to be what Ryan [Condal, showrunner] is doing here. It's simplest, yes, and may make sense in terms of budgets and shooting schedules. But simpler is not better … Maelor by himself means little. He is a small child, does not have a line of dialogue, does nothing of consequence but die… but where and when and how, that does matter."

While it's unlikely that Maelor will have much of a storyline, considering he hasn't even been born yet, Helaena's pregnancy does make it seem as if the child will factor into the story in some way. However, Maelor will be a threat to Rhaenyra's reign as a potential rival claimant to the throne, so the new queen might find herself in the middle of another moral quandary – like the question of what to do with young Prince Daeron, who turned out to be a fake anyway.

The show seemed to poke fun at Martin's post with a reference to poisonous butterflies earlier in the season, while another change to the source material might have accidentally erased Daenerys Targaryen from canon.

House of the Dragon continues weekly on HBO in the US and HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK. Keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule.

For even more, check out our House of the Dragon season 3 review or our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

The director of acclaimed fantasy anime Frieren: Beyond Journey's End believes the aim for the upcoming Golden Land arc is to surpass the previous two seasons – which are widely regarded as some of the best anime in the past decade.

Speaking at Anime Expo 2026 (via Polygon), Tomoya Kitagawa – who described Frieren season 3 as an "epic and romantic" adventure – said, "we're going to do our best to surpass season 2." He added that the "mentality is always to do better every time."

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End roared onto the scene in 2023, instantly becoming the top-rated anime of all time on aggregator site My Anime List. Its second season was similarly successful, despite its truncated length leaving some fans feeling a bit short-changed.

Frieren season 3 is currently slated for release in October 2027, though Kitagawa says there is still some way to go before we see the finished product. He remarked that they are currently "creating the design, concept art, and storyboard for season 3."

The third season will adapt the manga's Golden Land arc, which sees mage Frieren and her companions Stark and Fern head to the city of Wiese. It's there where they encounter fearsome demon Macht, the strongest of all seven Sages of Destruction.

If it lives up to expectations, Frieren will join a collection of other highly-anticipated titles to release next year, including Delicious in Dungeon season 2. We can't rule out Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, and Demon Slayer all returning in 2027 either.

Need the lowdown on what else is on the way? Read our complete guide to new anime.

The latest episode of House of the Dragon season 3 is all about Rhaenyra ruling – and it has fans wondering if the show has forgotten about a crucial (and bloody) season 2 plot point.

The season 2 premiere depicted the horrific Blood and Cheese, a moment that saw the young prince Jaehaerys decapitated in a scheme set up by Daemon meant to kill his nemesis Aemond, after Aemond killed Rhaenyra's son Lucerys in the season 1 finale.

"Why T.F. Does No One Acknowledge Jaehaerys?!?!" asks one fan on Reddit. "WTAF is wrong with these writers? THE BLACKS SAWED OFF THE HEAD OF A 6-YEAR OLD LITTLE BOY IN FRONT OF HIS MOTHER AND NO ONE WILL ACKNOWLEDGE IT. I will not be gaslit! Complaining about the loss of her sons in front of the mother and grandmother of the innocent little boy who was decapitated on orders from her prince-consort, just…. Unfathomably shit writing."

In the new episode, Rhaenyra does indeed pointedly reference the death of her sons, Jacaerys and Lucerys, in conversation with Alicent and Helaena. Neither of the green women bring up Jaehaerys.

"Rhaenyra sarcastically going, 'Well I couldn't imagine…' as if Helaena wasn't right there? Like at least your sons died in battle or on assignments, her son was a literal baby in his bed and on top of that Helaena literally had to watch her son be killed," points out one fan.

"It's funny outside of Aegon only Rhaenyra for one episode was mad at Daemon about it and unlike her Helaena and Alicent still do not know the details of how it was an 'accident,'" says another person.

"Memory loss, it's the only way this story makes sense," jokes someone else. "Remember how characters like Ned haunted the narrative for like YEARS? Or Elia and her children? Rhaegar? Lyanna? Remember when death mattered? Not in HOTD. Babies get beheaded and everybody just forgets," says another fan.

"Lmao they paraded Jaehaerys' body through the streets, hanged rat catchers and nobody in KL remembers Rhaenyra as a child killer. This show is beyond bad," says someone else.

"Is insane. This type of stuff will follow a character for the entirety of Game of Thrones. And here they were [like], oh sorry there's rats because Aegon killed all the rat catchers. I guess he just did it for the love of the game, not other reason whatsoever," says another fan. Aegon did this because the killers posed as rat catchers.

House of the Dragon continues weekly on HBO in the US and HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK. Keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule.

For even more, check out our House of the Dragon season 3 review or our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

House of the Dragon season 3, episode 3 entirely revolves around the newly ascended Queen Rhaenyra attempting to rule the Seven Kingdoms, though she's faced with a myriad of problems, from the big (the treasury is empty), to the small (the Red Keep is overrun with rats).

Across the runtime, we see the queen's grip on her composure slackening as the reality of ruling sets in – especially when, in one moment, she mistakes a servant for her son Jacaerys, who perished in the Battle of the Gullet.

While this is a standout episode of House of the Dragon season 3, some fans think we should have seen something like it earlier in Game of Thrones season 8.

"Great episode. My biggest problem with the character arc of Daenerys in the final season of GoT was how abrupt and poorly paced it was, and I couldn't help thinking that an episode just like this one tonight (S3E3) is exactly what Daenerys needed," says one fan on Reddit. "The pans and flashes to rats roaming around unchecked, the music playing all through the episode with small sharp violin/piano notes, all awesome small details to convey sanity and good decision making eroding. If an episode focusing on all the things weighing on Daenerys' mind in the final season of GoT had aired, I think the conclusion to her arc would have felt much better executed"

One of the biggest criticisms of Game of Thrones season 8 is that Daenerys's Mad Queen arc was incredibly rushed, culminating in the Mother of Dragons burning down King's Landing for no real reason at all.

"Daenerys needs this and much, much more in that final season," agrees another person. "Her character felt so well and truly fucked over it broke my heart."

"Daenerys should have overthrown Cersei in the season 7 finale so that the entire season 8 could be dedicated to the White Walker conflict and her Mad Queen arc. Would've been so much better," says another person.

"Yes absolutely this is what she needed in Mereen," agrees another fan. "The whole point is that Rhaenyra is slowly descending into madness. We needed more of an arc for Dany to do that. People point to moments of 'madness' in earlier seasons but she didn’t do any worse than any other male ruler," says someone else.

Not everyone agrees, however. "I'm not sure why people think Rhaenyra is descending into madness. You can be stressed out without going mad," points out one person.

"I don't think the story should have ended with Daenerys losing her mind at all… it means the only female rulers of Westeros were 'mad queens,' which is an unfortunate implication," says another fan.

Emma D'Arcy, who plays Rhaenyra in the show, has previously teased that a downfall might be on the cards, explaining that they and showrunner Ryan Condal were interested in exploring "a movement towards tyranny," adding, "but in particular making that journey legible."

House of the Dragon continues weekly on HBO in the US and HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK. Keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule.

For even more, check out our House of the Dragon season 3 review or our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

The latest episode of House of the Dragon season 3 breaks the usual mold to bring us an installment purely focused on Rhaenyra Targaryen ruling, after she took the Iron Throne in last week's episode.

Spoilers for season 3, episode 3 follow. Turn back now if you're not up to date!

One of the many problems Rhaenyra is faced with is the matter of her Hand, Corlys Velaryon, and his two bastard sons, Alyn and Addam, whom Corlys has promised legitimacy. After accusations levelled against Rhaenyra's own children, the new queen is reluctant to legitimize Corlys's son.

Corlys, however, is extremely unhappy with this decision, and, in a shocking moment, he shouts in Rhaenyra's face that her children were bastards.

"It's one of the things that he does without thinking," Steve Toussaint, who plays Corlys, told Variety of the moment. "Looking at the scene in the script, I remember thinking, 'OK, well, the last time someone said that to her, it was his brother, and he died within seconds.'"

Way back in season 1, Corlys's brother did indeed declare Rhaenyra's sons bastards when Driftmark's succession was called into question. Daemon swiftly – and brutally – killed him in front of the court.

"So this is a very dangerous thing to do, but I feel like he's completely at the end of his tether," Toussaint continued. "In that moment, he doesn't care, which, again, is why he raises his voice. It's not like he sort of just goes, 'I know what's going on.' He screamed it out. He doesn't care. And it's very defiant: I dare you to prove me wrong, because the world has suspected this anyway, and I've kept a secret. It's not careless abandoned, that's not quite what it is. I think it's like, do your worst. I don't care. There's nothing you can do that will make the truth any different to what it is."

The scene ends before Rhaenyra can properly react, but it's safe to say there's some bad blood between the new queen and her Hand now.

House of the Dragon continues weekly on HBO in the US and HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK. Keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule.

For even more, check out our House of the Dragon season 3 review or our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

House of the Dragon season 3 has found a very clever way to reference its source material, George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood.

In the new opening credits, the tapestry chronicling the history of the Targaryens is added to each episode with the latest major events from the season. But, if you pay close attention, you'll notice that the artistic rendering of these events is slightly different from what actually happened.

For example, in the Battle of the Gullet, it was Alyn who killed Sharako Lohar, but, in the tapestry, Corlys Velaryon is shown dramatically facing off with Lohar. Similarly, Jacaerys Velaryon is shown being killed by arrows, though the actual circumstances of his death are subtly different in the show to the tapestry (he's falling backwards in the tapestry, while in the show, he was already in the water).

"I love working in the contested history of Fire & Blood into these little flourishes," says one fan on Twitter – and it's true that this seems to be a deliberate nod to Martin's book.

Fire and Blood is a pseudo-historical text that tells the history of House Targaryen, but the twist is it's presented as coming from three different sources who each disagree with each other on the details. That means the truth of what really happened is unknown. So, the tapestry telling a false version of history perfectly fits the book's themes.

The source material has been a hot topic for House of the Dragon season 3 after Martin's infamous blog post about a "toxic" butterfly effect caused by making changes to his book. One change to Fire and Blood might have accidentally erased Daenerys Targaryen from canon (though it's an easy fix), while the show might even have referenced Martin's blog post with a sly Easter egg.

House of the Dragon continues weekly on HBO in the US and HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK. Keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule.

For even more, check out our House of the Dragon season 3 review or our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

As House of the Dragon season 3 continues to air, Game of Thrones fans are debating all of the important topics, including who is the best swordfighter in all of Westeros' history.

The debate kicked off over on Twitter when one fan asked, "Who’s coming out alive" in a fight to the death between Jamie Lannister and Daemon Targaryen. Now, not that this would ever happen, as Daemon was born hundreds of years before Jaime, but a lot of fans seem to be backing the Golden Lion over the Rogue Prince.

"George R.R. Martin says Jamie is a top three fighter in the entire history of A Song of Ice and Fire," said one fan, while another added, "If your name isn't Barristan Selmy, Arthur Dayne, Aemon the Dragonknight, Daemon Blackfyre, Robert Baratheon or Aegon the Conqueror, Jamie is killing you within 5 moves."

However, many fans think Daemon has it in him to beat the Lannister, as he has shown just what he can do with a sword in House of the Dragon. Who could forget when he sliced Ser Vaemond Velaryon's head in half with one swipe in House of the Dragon season 1, episode 8, after Lord Corlys' brother badmouthed Rhaenyra. "This is disrespectful to Daemon," added one Twitter user.

Funnily enough, Daemon star Matt Smith has already answered a similar question in the past. But rather than asking if Daemon could beat Jaime in a fight, it was Jon Snow. "Mate, I've got a dragon," said Smith on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon back in 2024. "Jon Snow is a bad boy. Don't get me wrong. Kit Harington, lovely man, lovely guy. I have a lot of respect. But don't get it twisted. I would fuck those brothers up." Well, there you have it.

As for Jaime Lannister, the Knight didn't go out in a blaze of glory, but was crushed under the Red Keep after Daenerys Targaryen invaded King's Landing. Daemon is still fighting strong in his respective show, but as the Dance of the Dragons continues to play out, no one is really safe on Team Black or Team Green.

House of the Dragon season 3 episode 3 hits HBO on July 5 in the US and on HBO Max and Sky on July 6 in the UK. You can find exact timings in our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule. For more, read our House of the Dragon season 3 review, and keep up with upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

It seems as though fantasy fans are just not feeling the second season of Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender, as ratings reveal that less than half the number of viewers who tuned into season 1 have returned for season 2.

According to Tudum, Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2, which hit Netflix on June 25, was viewed 8.7 million times over its first four days on the platform. That's a huge drop from season 1, which hit the streamer in 2024 with 21.2 million views, meaning the new installment is down by 59%.

The season sits in second place on Netflix's top 10 list of most popular English-language shows right now, and in third place is the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, which amassed 3 million views in the same week season 2 hit the streamer. Both seasons of Avatar sit behind the new Harlan Coben series I Will Find You, which earned 34.1 million views in its first full week on the site before hitting 24 million views in four days the same week as Avatar season 2.

It is not clear why the live-action Avatar show has seen a dip in viewership, as even though the sophomore season debuted to divisive reviews, that isn't really much of a change from season 1. In fact, Avatar season 2 sits at a 67% score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is actually a slight improvement from season 1, which stands at 62%.

In our Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 review, we call the new installment "better in basically every way to its first season," however, "it struggles under the weight of adapting the events of its animated counterpart" and "fumbles in ways that make its future concerning." That being said, Avatar: The Last Airbender season 3 is on the way and has already been filmed. Season 3 will mark the end of the live-action adaptation.

Following their bittersweet victory in saving the Northern Water Tribe from the Fire Nation, season 2 follows Avatar Aang, Katara, and Sokka as they set off to convince the Earth King to help them fight the Fire Lord Ozai. However, their journey leads them to series newcomer Toph (Miyako), whose skill in earthbending aids their quest.

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 is available to watch on Netflix now. For more, check out our guide ot the best shows on Netflix, and keep up with new TV shows on the way.

The latest episode of House of the Dragon season 3 is a major paradigm shift for Westeros, as Rhaenyra Targaryen at last ascends to the Iron Throne.

But there's also one moment that might be a nod to one of the most controversial Game of Thrones moments of all – George R.R. Martin's infamous blog post taking aim at the butterfly effect caused by changes the HBO show made from his book Fire and Blood.

While the bulk of the post revolved around the decision to remove Helaena and Aegon's son Maelor from the Blood and Cheese incident (and, indeed, the entire show so far), Martin ended his post with these ominous words: "And there are larger and more toxic butterflies to come, if House of the Dragon goes ahead with some of the changes being contemplated for seasons 3 and 4…"

Now, in House of the Dragon season 3, episode 2, Helaena is in the garden reading a book about butterflies. Not just any butterflies, either, but butterflies from Naath, which carry a deadly illness that kills invaders (so, toxic butterflies).

The moment has naturally been spotted by fans and posted across social media:

After the blog post, Martin was interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter, and he shared that his relationship with House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal is "abysmal."

"Then we got into season 2, and he basically stopped listening to me," Martin told the publication. "I would give notes, and nothing would happen. Sometimes he would explain why he wasn't doing it. Other times, he would tell me, 'Oh, OK, yeah, I'll think about that.' It got worse and worse, and I began to get more and more annoyed. Finally, it got to a point where I was told by HBO that I should submit all my notes to them and they would give Ryan our combined notes."

House of the Dragon continues weekly on HBO in the US and HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK. Keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule.

For even more, check out our House of the Dragon season 3 review or our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

Another episode of House of the Dragon season 3 has landed on HBO, and, of course, an eagle-eyed fan has found yet another difference between the on-screen adaptation and George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones book series.

Warning, this article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3 episode 2, so turn back now if you haven't caught up yet.

At the end of episode 2, after the guards follow Alicent's orders and open the gates for Rhaenyra and Daemon, the pair approach the throne room, and Rhaenyra finally sits on the Iron Throne. However, in Fire and Blood, when the Queen first sits on the throne, she cuts herself on one of the swords, and onlookers see her leave the room with blood running down her legs and arms, which does not happen on screen.

Fans have noticed the change, as one said on Twitter, "I wish they had shown the Iron Throne cutting Rhaenyra. Maybe it’s coming in the next episode." The fan added that the reason it "has to happen" is that "she needs to be rejected by the throne bc she is a villain, not a hero." However, other fans pointed out that the show so far has not painted her as a villain, so it may not happen for that very reason.

The Iron Throne cutting Rhaenyra signifies that her rule won't last long, foreshadowing what is to come. However, even though we did not see the throne slice her in episode 2, the Targaryen Queen does suffer a few blunders.

When she entered the throne room, she was hiding behind Daemon, which the Kingsguard pointed out was funny to see. Then later, Rhaenyra says she is unable to kill Alicent's father, ex-Hand, and master manipulator Otto Hightower in place of Aegon as the usurper, and asks Daemon to do it. But when she does try to behead Otto, she fails at first. Whereas Daemon is able to deliver one killing blow to his victim. These actions may nod to Rhaenyra not being fit to rule. But we have to remember that she has just lost another son in battle, and that killing Otto will affect Alicent

This isn't the first change the show has made to its source material. Just this season, the HBO series made major changes to the Battle of the Gullet, and even the opening credits include the incorrect Targaryen sigil sporting a four-legged dragon, which Martin has made it clear that only two-legged dragons exist in his universe, no matter how many heads they have.

House of the Dragon season 3 continues to air weekly on HBO and HBO Max. You can find exact timings in our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule. For more, read our House of the Dragon season 3 review, and keep up with upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

House of the Dragon season 3 has continued with another massive episode, and this one makes a huge change to George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood book.

Spoilers for the latest episode follow – turn back now if you're not up to date!

In the latest episode of House of the Dragon season 3, Rhaenyra Targaryen at last takes the Iron Throne, after Alicent Hightower made good on her word and opened the gates to the Red Keep. Rhaenyra's ascension is not without bloodshed, however, as she executes Otto Hightower, Alicent's father, on her way to the throne.

One major death from the books, though, did not happen in the show. In Fire and Blood, Alicent's brother, Gwayne Hightower, is present in King's Landing, and he's stopped from raising the alarm about Rhaenyra's arrival by the Gold Cloak commander Luthor Largent. Largent tells Gwayne that he's loyal to Daemon Targaryen, then kills Gwayne.

In the show, Gwayne is far away with Criston Cole, and Largent reveals his true allegiance in a dramatic moment in the throne room to defend Rhaenyra from the green guards instead.

How this changes the plot moving forward remains to be seen, as, now, anything could happen to Gwayne as the show goes on.

Another change to the Battle of the Gullet in the last episode might have accidentally erased Daenerys Targaryen from existence, too (though it's a fairly easy fix).

Martin previously railed against changes made to his source material on his Not a Blog page, later telling The Hollywood Reporter his relationship with showrunner Ryan Condal is "abysmal."

House of the Dragon continues weekly on HBO in the US and HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK. Keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule.

For even more, check out our House of the Dragon season 3 review, or our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

House of the Dragon season 3, episode 2 continues the momentum from the season premiere with another massive installment.

Below, we have a spoiler-filled breakdown of everything that happens in the new episode, including all the major deaths and Easter eggs, too. That means you can quickly get up to speed on the latest chapter of the Dance of the Dragons as House of the Dragon season 3 heats up. But, if you're not looking for spoilers just yet, then our spoiler-free House of the Dragon season 3 review is where you need to head.

For even more, you can keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule, or our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.

House of the Dragon season 3 episode 2 recap

The episode picks up in the aftermath of the Battle of the Gullet. The three dragonseeds – Hugh Hammer, Ulf, and Addam of Hull – finally join the fight and finish off the remainder of the Triarchy's fleet. Baela, meanwhile, flies home to Dragonstone with the body of her betrothed, Jacaerys Velaryon.

When they return, Rhaenyra has finally been freed from her chambers. She is, predictably, devastated by the death of her firstborn son. After at first seeming to be in shock, not quite believing Jace is dead, Rhaenyra then gives in to devastation and mourns over her son's body.

Outside, Addam searches for Corlys Velaryon, AKA the Sea Snake, in the Gullet, while Rhaena travels to the Vale and seeks asylum. Lady Jeyne Arryn is reluctant, but Rhaena sways her by reminding her she wanted a dragon to protect her land.

Daemon, hanging out with the Winter Wolves, gets word that Jacaerys has died. He is summoned to Dragonstone to prepare to take King's Landing. Addam finds Corlys, who declares, "If this be victory, I pray I never win another." Within the Red Keep, Alicent hurries to make arrangements for Rhaenyra's arrival, including getting the gold cloaks of the City Watch on her side.

Back on Dragonstone, Rhaenyra knows Sheepstealer has a rider – and blames them for Jace's death – and it's revealed that Vhagar has been spotted in the Riverlands, safely far away from King's Landing. When Rhaenyra's resolve appears to falter in her grief, Daemon attempts to rouse her as only he can. He speaks of the Song of Ice and Fire, the prophecy that Viserys passed on to Rhaenyra, and of a dream he had of a girl with three dragons (you might recognize her as the Mother of Dragons herself, Daenerys Targaryen).

In King's Landing, Lord Jasper the Master of Coin wises up to Alicent's scheming and attempts to rape her. Fortunately, he is stopped by Maester Orwyle and some guards, who arrest Jasper. Alicent then admits to her daughter – and queen – Helaena that she made a mistake crowning Aegon, and the duo make the guards on the city walls stand down in preparation for Rhaenyra's arrival.

Aemond arrives at Harrenhal and promptly begins to lay waste to it, burning the castle with Vhagar. He also kills Ser Simon Strong and the others living in Harrenhal, but takes a wound himself, and staggers towards the witch Alys Rivers for help.

Rhaenyra and Daemon arrive in King's Landing, flanked by Hugh Hammer and Ulf on dragonback. They walk through the Red Keep, Daemon cutting down the guards that stand in their way, until they reach the throne room. There, they are surrounded by Kingsguard and the City Watch. All seems lost until the Watch side with Rhaenyra and Daemon. Rhaenyra then demands that Aegon be brought to her.

Aegon, of course, has fled, but Daemon finds a prisoner that's almost as useful: Otto Hightower. Daemon brings Otto for Rhaenyra to execute, and, after at first hesitating, Rhaenyra completes the execution in two blows. Daemon executes Jasper before he can finish delivering his last words.

Rhaenyra then ascends the throne, leaving a trail of bloody footprints in her wake. Alicent and Helaena are brought before her after they were caught trying to escape the city. The episode ends with Alicent seeing her father's body – and looking in horror at Rhaenyra, as Rhaenyra, finally seated on the Iron Throne, looks back.

House of the Dragon season 3 episode 2: who dies?

The death toll isn't quite as high in this installment as last episode's Battle of the Gullet, but there are still some significant casualties:

• Otto Hightower (beheaded by Rhaenyra Targaryen)
• Lord Jasper Wylde (beheaded by Daemon Targaryen)

There are also countless unnamed guards killed, but Rhaenyra and Daemon manage to take King's Landing with relatively little bloodshed.

House of the Dragon season 3 episode 2 Easter eggs

New credits: The new title sequence continues in episode 2 with a remix of the familiar theme tune, and, in this episode, the tapestry depicting the history of the Targaryens has an update, too. Now, the tapestry shows the Battle of the Gullet and the death of Jacaerys Velaryon.

Corlys's Fire and Blood line: After Corlys is fished out of the ocean and reunites with Addam and Baela, he reflects on the Battle of the Gullet with the line, "If this be victory, I pray I never win another." This is dialogue ripped straight from George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood.

Daenerys Targaryen: Daemon had a vision of Daenerys Targaryen in the House of the Dragon season 2 finale, and he speaks of it again to Rhaenyra to try and rouse her to take King's Landing after she is stricken with grief over the death of her son Jace. Daemon tells her he dreamed of a girl with three dragons, specifically of the moment Daenerys emerged unhurt from Khal Drogo's funeral pyre with her three, newly hatched dragons Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion.

The Song of Ice and Fire: Daemon also talks of the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy to Rhaenyra, a prophecy passed from Targaryen king to heir since the time of Aegon the Conqueror. This is the prophecy of the Prince that was Promised, who will unite the Seven Kingdoms against the threat of the White Walkers when the time comes. You might remember that this particular prophecy plays a large role in Game of Thrones.

Harrenhal: Aemond Targaryen enters Harrenhal in a very similar way to Daemon last season, only Aemond ends up slaying everyone he comes across.

Beheading: Rhaenyra takes two swings to behead Otto, much like Theon Greyjoy took multiple swings to behead Rodrick Cassel – though Rodrick's execution was far messier than Otto's.

House of the Dragon season 3 air weekly on HBO and HBO Max on Sundays in the US and on HBO Max, Sky and NOW on Mondays in the UK. For more on the show, check out our guides, explainers and interviews:

• House of the Dragon season 3 showrunner Ryan Condal on what keeps him up at night making the Game of Thrones prequel, and the spin-off he wants to see next: "I think there's a really fascinating story to be told"
• The Battle of the Gullet in House of the Dragon season 3 features some key changes from George R. R. Martin's book
• House of the Dragon season 3 makes huge changes to the Battle of the Gullet, but I love that it makes the death of one of my favorite characters even bleaker
• House of the Dragon season 3, episode 1 confirms a book character isn't being adapted
• Who is Ormund Hightower in House of the Dragon? His Game of Thrones origins explained
• The House of the Dragon dragons, listed and explained
• Greens vs. Blacks, explained
• The Targaryen family tree
• The House of the Dragon timeline

House of the Dragon season 3 has introduced Ormund Hightower, and fans are loving him already.

In the season premiere, Ormund, played by James Norton, showed up very briefly as leader of the green army. While he hasn't done much just yet, he's already made a big impression with fans.

"Putting all my stock in the Ormund storyline," said one person on Reddit, with another saying: "He's awful, I lov[e] it lol"

"I like that they set him apart with the whole scented perfume thing I wonder if it shows off his pompous nature as Lord of Oldtown or if it's a genuine disability," says someone else – Ormund conspicuously sniffs perfume when a messenger comes to visit.

"I have no clue who he is cause I haven't read the book but this actor nailed the pompous elitist high born facial expressions. It was like a 2 minute scene and I love him and Daeron(?) already," says someone else. A fan theory that Ormund's squire is none other than Daeron Targaryen has sprung up since the episode aired.

"I’m just over the moon to James Norton in Westeros. He’s such an amazing actor and I’m glad to see him in the show," says someone else.

"Was sold on his character as soon as he said 'King, is he now?' and simultaneously made THAT Hoity-Toity face... Definitely here for it …," agrees another fan.

"He's won me over to team green with his smug aura and having Brasso as a pissed off sidekick," says another person, referring to Joplin Sibtain, who played Brasso in Andor.

Ormund is Alicent Hightower's cousin, and, with such a huge army at his back, we wouldn't count him out as the season goes on.

House of the Dragon season 3 continues weekly on HBO in the US and HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK. You can keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule. For even more, read our House of the Dragon season 3 review.