'House of the Dragon' set to conclude with season 4, production for season 3 to start in 2025

LOS ANGELES: HBO has announced that its 'Game of Thrones' prequel series, 'House of the Dragon,' will wrap up with its fourth season.

Showrunner and co-creator Ryan Condal revealed the news during a press conference discussing the Season 2 finale, as per Variety.

Condal shared that the third season of the show is currently being written and will start production in early 2025.

When asked about the number of episodes for Season 3, Condal stated that discussions with HBO are ongoing, but he expects the show's pacing to remain consistent with the second season's eight episodes.

George R.R. Martin, author of 'A Song of Ice and Fire' and co-creator of 'House of the Dragon,' had earlier suggested that it would take four seasons of 10 episodes each to fully tell the 'Dance of the Dragons' story from his book 'Fire & Blood.' HBO has now confirmed the series will follow a four-season arc.

'House of the Dragon' is not the only 'Game of Thrones' prequel in the works.

HBO is also producing 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,' based on Martin's 'Tales of Dunk and Egg,' set 100 years before the events of 'Game of Thrones,' reported Variety.

During the press conference, Condal also addressed the absence of the Battle of the Gullet in the Season 2 finale.

He explained that the team wanted to give this major event the attention it deserves, building anticipation for its depiction in future episodes.

Condal promised that this battle will be the biggest and most exciting event they have pulled off so far.

Apart from this, Condal hinted at future plot developments, particularly regarding Otto Hightower (played by Rhys Ifans), who appeared in a surprising scene at the end of Season 2.

He assured fans that Otto's story is far from over and will be explored further in Season 3, according to Variety.