HBO
The ongoing battle between HBO’s House of the Dragon and Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which began when the two series both premiered within weeks of each other in late summer 2022, rages on, as the two shows released their official trailers within hours of each other.
On Monday, May 13, Prime Video announced that the first trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two would be released on Tuesday, May 14, which it did.
Just about an hour later, however, HBO quietly came out of nowhere to release the first trailer for House of the Dragon season two.
Set almost 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon “brings us back to the time in Westerosi history when House Targaryen was at the height of its power and begins with the reign of King Viserys I, the fifth Targaryen ruler, the question of his succession, and the events that unfold after he names his daughter, Rhaenyra, heir — a title a woman had never assumed,” according to HBO.
House of the Dragon is just one of many Game of Thrones spinoffs that will be on HBO in the coming years as the network is also developing A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, an Aegon’s Conquest prequel, some animated series, and more.
As for Lord of the Rings, it was announced earlier this month that franchise star Andy Serkis would return as Gollum and direct the 2026 film Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
House of the Dragon, a prequel to the iconic HBO series Game of Thrones, premiered in 2022 and stars Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Milly Alcock, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, and more.
The series particularly helped turn Milly Alcock into a star as the Australian actress was cast as Supergirl in James Gunn’s DCU earlier this year.
Season two of House of the Dragon will premiere on HBO and MAX on Sunday, June 16.