After the controversial final seasons, Game of Thrones is unquestionably one of the biggest cultural phenomena ever to grace the small screen. The series was adapted from the genre-defining works of George R.R. Martin, and the fact that there are still stories of his left means fans are guaranteed more Thrones content, whether it's a good idea or not. House of the Dragon is set to release on New Years Day next year, depicting the downfall of House Targaryen and the resulting civil war. It is adapting the second half of Martin's 2018 novel Fire & Blood, itself still awaiting a yet unannounced second volume.
Game of Thrones was the kind of project that dominated the cultural consciousness. The series was a highly anticipated adaptation of a beloved story which only seemed to grow in viewership as the seasons went on. Even as the quality faltered and some fans turned hard against it, the series was selling out theaters for season premiers and always remained one of the most talked about things on television. Most fans will atest that the later seasons and especially the conclusion failed to live up to the massive expectations set by the series. Despite this, the enduring success and massive cultural cache the property commands ensures that HBO will keep trying to bring Game of Thrones back to its former glory.
House of the Dragon is not being created by the showrunners behind Game of Thrones. D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, formerly beloved creators of the fantasy epic, seem to have no involvement with the upcoming prequel. George R. R. Martin has a creator credit on House of the Dragon, as well as the executive producer credit he had on Game of Thrones. This suggests he may have some more involvement with the series than he did with the original, but he is not set to write or direct. Some fans maintain that Thrones' downfall came as soon as the series outpaced the novels, but the upcoming prequel will likely face the same issue if it makes it to multiple seasons.
The other creator listed for House of the Dragon is Ryan Condal. Condal has been working in Hollywood since 2008, but his early career is filled with unproduced scripts he had a hand in. He helped to write a film adaptation of Paradise Lost and of The Art of War, as well as a TV adaptation of the comic book The Sixth Gun, none of which ever saw release. He does have screenplay credits on 2014's Hercules and 2018's Rampage, the former based on a graphic novel series and the latter based on a late 80's arcade game. Condal's only TV credit is as creator of the USA Network's Colony, a sci-fi drama that ran almost 3 seasons, being canceled just before its 3rd season finale. Condal's track record, while not awful, does not particularly inspire hope in the series.
Game of Thrones was always a loose adaptation of its source material, routinely diverting in many ways to explore new aspects of the massive story with Martin's blessing. This good-natured rearranging of the stories seemed to fall apart, along with the series as a whole, in the final seasons. Weiss and Benioff swiftly went from two of the most respected showrunners in modern television to heavily mocked pariahs in the span of a season or two. Numerous big projects of theirs seemed to falter as the series took its tragic dive, from their instantly protested Confederate series to their supposed Star Wars trilogy. It is hard to know to what degree Game of Thrones has bounced back from this massive cultural shift against it and its creators.
The biggest hurdle to House of the Dragon might just be the book it's setting out to adapt. Fire & Blood is the worst reviewed novel in the Song of Ice and Fire universe. Its closest competitor in that category is the fourth book, A Feast for Crows, which received very mixed reception, largely because it didn't include any of the series most popular characters, Daenerys, Tyrion or Jon Snow. Fire & Blood has that problem to a much greater degree, taking place centuries before the birth of any character fans are likely to have heard of. The prequel novel was panned by some as little more than tedious homework, a damning criticism for an author whose works are typically spellbinding epics.
Even when critics panned earlier entries in A Song of Ice and Fire, they typically still praised its immersive fantasy. Most couldn't stay mad at the series, an issue not experienced by critics of Fire & Blood. The upcoming adaptation is facing a serious uphill climb. Between the inexperienced showrunner, the badly damaged cultural vibe towards the project, and the possible inferiority of the source material, House of the Dragon just looks like a tough proposition.
The series might look like it's in a bad spot before its release, but with the hard work of George R. R. Martin and a crew of talent, a powerful fantasy epic could still come from this troubled production. House of the Dragon won't recapture the magic, it may not even be necessary, but it could still be great.