More dragons. More money.
HBO’s upcoming fantasy series House of the Dragon reportedly cost even more to make than game of Thrones, Variety reports.
The 10-episode debut season of HotDwhich will premiere its first episode on Binge and Foxtel in Australia on August 22, is said to have racked up a bill of around $300 million.
In comparison, the eighth and final season of GoT cost about $130 million.
While thrones had fewer episodes than HotD for its final season, coming in at just six episodes, the prequel still cost more on a per-episode basis at just under $28.75 million per episode, compared to the $22 million it took to make each episode of GoT.
Back in 2011, before it became an international phenomenon, Thrones’ The first season was allocated $9 million an episode.
But with more computer-generated imagery required thanks to the amount of dragons involved in the storyline (there’s apparently 17 dragons), not to mention immense pressure due to the popularity of thronesit makes sense HBO allocated a substantial amount of cash for the hotly-anticipated prequel series.
In thrones, only Daenerys Targaryen is blessed with owning dragons, which were incredibly rare. However, the mythical creatures fly rampant in HotDwith almost every key character owning one.
Stream House of the Dragon from August 22 on BINGE or on FOXTEL. New BINGE customers get a 14-day free trial. Sign up at binge.com.au
It’s certainly an expensive genre, with Amazon’s upcoming The Lord of the Rings prequel series The Rings of Power reportedly racking up an eye-watering $668 million bill to produce its first season, comprising of eight episodes.
House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of the hit fantasy series, and will focus on the rise and fall of House Targaryen after the family becomes embroiled in a nasty civil war.
It’s based on George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire companion Book, Fire&Bloodwith Martin also having co-created the show alongside TV writer Ryan Condal.
House of the Dragon will premiere on Monday 22 August at the same time as the US, streaming on Binge. The series will also be available to watch on Foxtel in 4K Ultra HD
.