HBO confirm huge House of the Dragon news days before release of season two

Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen in The House of the Dragon.

HBO has made a huge announcement about the future of the hit show House of the Dragon.

Just days away from premiering the highly anticipated second season of the Game of Thrones prequel, the network has revealed it has commissioned a third.

While it’s unclear how many episodes will be in the third season or when it will be released, executive vice president of HBO programming Francesca Orsi confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that co-creators George RR Martin and Ryan Condal will also return.

“George, Ryan and the rest of our incredible executive producers, cast and crew have reached new heights with the phenomenal second season of House of the Dragon,” she said.

“We are in awe of the dragon-sized effort the entire team has put into the creation of a spectacular season two, with a scope and scale that is only rivalled by its heart. We could not be more thrilled to continue the story of House Targaryen and watch this team burn bright again for season three.”

It comes after Matthew Needham, who stars as the conniving Lord Larys Strong in the show, sat down with the Herald to share what fans can expect from the upcoming season.

“It’s bloody,” he said. “It’s emotional and it’s just carnage, really. People are in for a ride.”

It’s a confession that may come as no surprise to fans of the Golden Globe-winning series. After viewer’s last interaction with the show was Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) chilling stare into the camera after the tragic death of her son, Lucerys.

Now, with the second season picking up after the murderous act - performed by her half-brother Aemond’s (Ewan Mitchell) dragon, along with his brother Aegon’s (Glynn-Carney) challenging of her claim to the Iron Throne, fans will see an all-out House Targaryen civil war.

House of the Dragon season two teaser trailer has dropped. Photo / HBO

While it’s unclear how many large-scale battle scenes the upcoming eight episodes will contain, The Ringer has reported there will be at least one, and Kiwi fans can revel in the fact that the breathtaking special effects are thanks to Wētā FX.

Founded by Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor and Jamie Selkirk in 1993, the digital visual effects company recently earned two accolades at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards in January for their work on the HBO series The Last of Us, and Best Animated Short at the Oscars in March.

Fans are already impressed with the quality of the effects in the season two trailer.

“Wētā is great! Not surprisingly that the visual effects quality in the teaser has become noticeably better,” one wrote on Reddit.