'House of the Dragon' will be back for a third season — but you'll have to wait. Here's everything we know about when it will return.

• HBO renewed "House of the Dragon" for season 3 before the season 2 premiere.

• Production for season 3 starts in early 2025, with a possible 2026 release.

• Showrunner Ryan Condal also confirmed that the series would run for four seasons.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for the season two finale of "House of the Dragon."

HBO was betting big on the success of "House of the Dragon" long before the season two finale.

The network renewed the "Game of Thrones" prequel for another another season ahead of the show's June premiere. Francesca Orsi, HBO's head of drama, praised the team behind the hit fantasy series in the renewal announcement.

"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,'" Orsi said in a press release, referencing creator George R. R. Martin and showrunner Ryan Condal. "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 rivaled 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," she added.

Now, "House of the Dragon" has wrapped its second season with a neat setup for the action that's still to come. Here's everything that we know about season three.

When will season 3 of 'House of the Dragon' premiere?

That's still to be determined, and HBO hasn't said anything official about a release date. But showrunner Ryan Condal confirmed that production on season three would begin in early 2025 — and that would mean that a 2026 release date wouldn't be out of the question.

But don't worry — you'll have some more Westeros drama to tide you over with "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," the Dunk and Egg spinoff that's due in 2025.

What will be the plot of season 3 of 'House of the Dragon?'

We can't say for certain, but there is one big battle on the horizon: the Battle of the Gullet.

Condal said, per Deadline, that the series was "building" to the pivotal battle, which demands significant production resources.

"It will happen very shortly in terms of storytelling," he said. "It will be the biggest thing to date we have pulled off. We want to have the time and space to do that at a level that will excite the fans."

There are plenty of other events that we can predict will occur in season three based on what happens in "Fire and Blood," some of which have already been teased in the series. Those include Rhaenyra taking back King's Landing, Prince Daeron and his dragon Tessarion finally making a joint appearance, and Daemon and Aemond's prophesied demises. But "House of the Dragon" has started to make some bold adaptation choices — so anything could be on the horizon.

If you want a preview of what's ahead, though, you can pick up "Fire and Blood" yourself. You'll probably want to start somewhere in the chapter "The Dying of the Dragons: The Red Dragon and the Gold" to catch up on season two and read ahead for what may be to come.

Who's in the season 3 cast of 'House of the Dragon?'

It's probably safe to assume that the big players — among them Emma D'Arcy (Rhaenyra Targaryen), Olivia Cooke (Alicent Hightower), Matt Smith (Daemon Targaryen), Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon), Ewan Mitchell (Aemond Targaryen), Tom Glynn-Carney (Aegon Targaryen), and Harry Collett (Jacaerys Velaryon) — will return for season three. That extends to others whose storylines have yet to be wrapped up.

As for potential newcomers, there are roles that have yet to be cast. Chief among them is Prince Daeron Targaryen, Alicent and Viserys' youngest son who was sent to ward at Oldtown.

There's also the matter of Nettles, a character from "Fire and Blood" who claims the dragon Sheepstealer. In the season two finale of "House of the Dragon," Rhaena finally comes across what we presume is the dragon Sheepstealer — but it remains to be seen if she successfully claims the dragon and takes over that storyline, or if Nettles will still appear.

Will season three be the last season of 'House of the Dragon?'

Nope! Condal confirmed after the season two finale, per Deadline, that "House of the Dragon" would run for four seasons.

That's seemed like the plan for a while. George R.R. Martin said on his personal blog in October 2022 that he couldn't see "House of the Dragon" covering all of the Dance of the Dragons in any less than four seasons.

On the business side, HBO head of drama Francesca Orsi gave a promising update for the future on the series to Deadline in May 2023.

"George and Ryan are going to meet after the writers strike. They had originally planned to meet before the strike took place and that was to figure out at what point the series itself was going to end," she said. "Is it four seasons? I don't think from where I sit at this point will be any less than four. But could be more. We'll see."

In December 2023, Martin wrote on his blog that he had met with Condal and the rest of the show's writing staff to break ground on seasons three and four.

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