'Game Of Thrones' Prequel: 'House Of The Dragon' Filming Starts In April, HBO Confirms

There is good news for "Game of Thrones" fans. Its prequel, "House of the Dragon," will start filming soon, an HBO executive has confirmed.

During a Television Critics' Association discussion Wednesday, Casey Bloys, HBO programming president, said the prequel series will start shooting in April, Deadline reported. Expressing his excitement about collaborating with Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal, he said the network's approach toward future spinoffs of the award-winning fantasy franchise will not be aggressive.

"The way we try to approach it is not by [saying], 'We need five shows within three years,' but 'What are the stories worth telling?' We've been developing multiple takes on different worlds. The one I want to do is the one that I think is best creatively," Bloys explained.

He further said the expansion stories of "Game of Thrones" should be about the "stories and the showrunners," which would paint their vision on-screen rather than hitting "some arbitrary target" for creating a number of shows, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Meanwhile, a series adaptation of "Game of Thrones" author George R. R. Martin's "Tales of Dunk and Egg" is reportedly in the early development stage. Bloys praised Martin's world of stories and noted how interesting they are in terms of size and road maps connecting with history.

Bloys said the "House of the Dragon" is already "an established history that leads you to Game of Thrones the show, and there is a lot of little branches" and "stories to tell."

Paddy Considine will portray King Viserys Targaryen's character in the prequel series. The 10-episode series will revolve around Targaryen civil war and reflect on the events that took place 300 years prior to the "Game of Thrones" series, People reported.

British actress Emma D'Arcy will essay the role of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, while Matt Smith will play Rhaenyra's uncle Prince Daemon Targaryen and Olivia Cooke will portray Queen Alicent Hightower, who is King Viserys' second wife.

Aegon II Targaryen is another key character who will ignite a civil war by challenging Princess Rhaenyra's claim to the throne and will play her younger half-brother. It is not known who will be portraying the character.