House of the Dragon first photos show Emma D’Arcy and Matt Smith as Targaryens

The first official photos from the sets of Game Of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon have been released. HBO on Wednesday released a series of pictures featuring Emma D'Arcy, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Rhys Ifans and Steve Toussaint in their medieval costumes.

In the first picture, D'Arcy and Smith, who play Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Prince Daemon Targaryen respectively, are seen sharing the frame. In another picture, Toussaint stands on the edge of a rock. The actor plays the role of Lord Corlys Velaryon, also known as the Sea Snake. The third picture features Cooke and Ifans as the Alicent Hightower and Otto Hightower.

House of the Dragon is based on George RR Martin's Fire & Blood. The series is based 300 years before the events that transpired in Game of Thrones. The prequel will focus on the story of House Targaryen.

According to Variety, the House of the Dragon has been granted a 10-episode order and is expected to debut in 2022. Last week, pictures from the casting's script-reading session were shared online. It has been revealed that Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal serve as co-showrunners and executive producers. Author Martin and Vince Gerardis have also been roped in as executive producers. The series has been co-created by Martin and Condal.

The pilot episode will be directed by Sapochnik. He will also additional episodes. Other directors include Clare Kilner and Geeta V Patel. Greg Yaitanes will also direct and co-executive produce the show.

Game of Thrones ended in 2019. The final season wasn't well-received by fans. The HBO show concluded the long-running drama within eight episodes and featured a few goof-ups. The finale season was also criticised for wrapping up the long-awaited battle with the White Walkers in the matter of three episodes.