House of the Dragon Season 2 Has “Two of the Biggest Battles This Franchise Has Ever Seen”

House of the Dragon season 2 is raising the bar as all-out war erupts.

According to the HBO fantasy series’ showrunner Ryan Condal, the eight-episode run is managing to “fit in two of the biggest battles this franchise has ever seen.”

Talking to Den of Geek, Condal reveals, “We can fit two Avengers films inside of our shoot schedule…The battles are episodes unto themselves. We have two of the largest sequences that we’ve ever filmed on House of the Dragon. Both of them outstrip anything that we did in season one. They are episodes within episodes.”

They will, as you might imagine, feature dragons. Game of Thrones only ever had three - Drogon, Viserion, and Rhaegal. House of the Dragon season 1 had nine already, and there are more coming in season 2, including King Aegon II’s Sunfyre and Baela’s Moondancer.

To ensure the actors got to grips with their dragons, Condal made sure they hopped in the saddle of realistic stand-ins. “These poor actors climb up on a saddle but they never interact with the creature they’re supposed to have this close bond with,” Condal says. “If you believe Westerosi historical propaganda, Aegon and Sunfyre famously had the closest bond between dragon and human in history. It’s important for Tom Glynn-Carney as an actor to know what Sunfyre looks like.”

Related: House of the Dragon Season 2's Most Brutal Scene Detailed by Olivia Cooke

The next step in the epic Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons kicks off when House of the Dragon season 2 premieres Sunday, June 16 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.