.jpg?width=660)
There is no question that House of the Dragon season 1 was hailed as a worthy follow-up to Game of Thrones, but many fans believe that season 2 dipped below their expectations.
A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin recently revealed that, creatively speaking, he was not as involved in the writing for season 2 as much as he was in the first season.
How Much of George RR Martin's Writing Was Included in House of the Dragon Season 2?
A recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter (via SFFGazette.com) led Martin to reveal a couple of creative decisions that didn't involve his own input, despite being the author who kickstarted the flagship series.
"It's worse than rocky," Martin said in the interview, reviewing how House of the Dragon season 2 went down, "It's abysmal."
.jpg?width=700&quality=10&blur=40)
Martin continued to say that he initially thought he and the show co-creator Ryan [Condal] were "partners", considering that Condal used to receive notes from the author in revising the scripts according to his vision. When House of the Dragon season 2 dropped, the dynamic shifted without Martin realizing sooner.
It's true that Condal had almost always "changed some things" that Martin ended up liking because of how they would "work really well", but in season 2, in Martin's words: "[Ryan Condal] basically stopped listening to me." Martin's notes didn't matter anymore.
"Sometimes he would explain why he wasn't doing it. Other times, he would tell me, 'Oh, OK, yeah, I'll think about that.' It got worse and worse, and I began to get more and more annoyed," Martin added, "Finally, it got to a point where I was told by HBO that I should submit all my notes to them and they would give Ryan our combined notes."
An HBO insider previously declared that George and Ryan "had a disagreement on the direction of season 3."
Apart from the viral comments that Martin posted on his blog in 2024 on disagreeing with Condal's direction of season 2, we are not aware of the extent of Martin's involvement in House of the Dragon season 3.
It's worth mentioning that Game of Thrones suffered the same misdirection when Martin had yet to finish the last two novels of the series ahead of time.
What Can Fans Expect From House of the Dragon Season 3?
House of the Dragon season 3 will rely on its source material, George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood, but perhaps not too much, as Condal envisions it. Depending on the trailer, we should still be underway with what Martin's original novel planned out for the series.
In this case, season 3 will likely witness the Battle of the Gullet, King's Landing and Harrenhal switching lands, Dragonseeds' betrayal against Rhaenyra, Aemond and Daemon's highly anticipated face-off, and the Dragonpit storyline.
It remains to be seen how closely season 3 will follow Martin's roadmap, but one thing's for sure: the third season won't work or make sense unless it involves most of the novel's major plot points.
In the meantime, fans can expect House of the Dragon season 3 to release sometime in 2026.
Keep it locked on Epicstream.com, the best source for film, TV, and celebrity coverage!