Streaming platform HBO Max has released a full trailer for the prequel to the massive Game of Thrones series called House of the Dragon.

The two-and-a-half-minute video has received about five million views on YouTube.

The premiere of the project is scheduled for August 21, and Russian-speaking viewers will be able to see a dubbed version on the 22nd in the Amediateka online cinema.

The plot of the new series will focus on the house of the Targaryens - the rulers of the Seven Kingdoms and dragons, the progenitors of Daenerys Targaryen.

Showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik, based on George Martin's epic fantasy "Fire and Blood", tried to adhere to the text of the original source as much as possible in the work on the series.

Previously, they also noted that they would retain the atmosphere of the Game of Thrones, although the events in the new tape unfold about 200 years before the history of the famous series.

“We are telling a story about intergenerational conflict.

We arrange everything so that by the time the first blow with the sword is struck, you would already understand all the parties involved here, ”Kondal told The Hollywood Reporter.

It's clear from the trailer that King Viserys (Paddy Considine) has to name an heir to the Iron Throne, but can't choose between his sibling Prince Damon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and daughter Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy).

Descendant kinship becomes decisive - the king appoints his firstborn child, Rainier, as the heir.

No woman has sat on the Iron Throne yet, but Reynira is determined: “I will create a new order,” she says.

This does not please the young wife of the king, Alicente Hightower (Olivia Cooke), who, according to the book, produced three sons-heirs.

The political confrontation between the parties eventually leads to a large-scale civil war.

“The main characters are two women and two men.

This is the king (Viserys), his brother (Damon), the daughter of the king (Rainira) and her best friend (Alicent).

Subsequently, the best friend becomes the wife of the king and, accordingly, the queen.

It's a difficult situation in itself, when your best friend marries your father.

But from all these small details, a colossal confrontation between the two sides gradually follows, ”says Sapochnik.

Emma D'Arcy told The Hollywood Reporter that her character, "an outsider at her core, constantly struggles with what it means to be a woman.

She is horrified at the thought that motherhood will become a cage for her, and she understands that if she were a man, her situation would be different.

As for King Viserys, Paddy Considine considers him a kind but weak-willed ruler.

“He is a good man, but a bad king in the sense that he tries to please everyone,” says the actor.

Prince Damon is much more decisive than his brother-king, and for the sake of power he is ready not only to make war against a relative, but also to go to incest.

According to Matt Smith, his character is not devoid of humanity.

“On paper, the Damon character is one thing.

I've always been interested in taking him in a slightly different direction.

I think that in the case of Damon, there is such a strange, sensitive nature here, as well as a rather sincere devotion and humanistic qualities that can be seen in him, ”The Hollywood Reporter quotes Smith.

Actress Olivia Cooke says that her character Alicente "has a very dark side, but at the same time she strives for what she thinks is good, even if her ideas are wrong."

  • © Shot from the series "House of the Dragon"

Fans of the series "Game of Thrones" on the eve of the release of the prequel were divided into two camps: some were enthusiastic about the trailer, while others, on the contrary, believe that the new HBO work will be a failure.

Some even compare the forthcoming "House of the Dragon" with the Amazon project "Rings of Power" - the prehistory of the famous "Lord of the Rings".

“Finally something to watch since Game of Thrones.

It is obvious that the money was rolled in a lot and the cast is generally good.

I am 99.9% sure that the series will shoot and without a share of doubt will bypass the “Rings of Power,” writes one of the commentators on YouTube.

Many are looking forward to seeing more dragons than the original series and hope the showrunners give them a fair amount of attention.

“But this might be good.

According to the books, there is such a notch ... and dragon fights, ”the user notes.

Among the advantages of the upcoming series, viewers attribute its scale and soundtrack (as in the case of the Game of Thrones, German composer Ramin Javadi worked on the music).

However, in the Russian-language segment of the network, many fans of the original series are unhappy with what they saw in the prequel trailer.

The computer graphics, and the cast, and the "agenda", which some users saw in a two-minute video, got it.

“Another strong and independent woman will establish her own, new order.

And this is in the Middle Ages, ”the comment says.

“Dragons are like from a video game, I hope the graphics will be better in the series,” writes another user.

“We killed the last season of Game of Thrones.

And we will bury in political agendas and "The House of the Dragon!"

(God, this just looks ridiculous. The series has not yet been released, but it already makes people laugh), ”said the author of the message, commenting on the participation of black actors in the series.

By contrast, English-speaking commentators are overwhelmingly optimistic.

“No other show has made me so excited since the last season of Game of Thrones.

Dragons look amazing and terrifying like never before,” the blogger notes on Twitter.

“It will be better than Game of Thrones at its peak.

Already from the trailer it is clear that the story will be great.

When the show airs, it will be the biggest show on TV,” wrote another user.

In addition to the new series, other movie stories were previously announced, the action of which will unfold in Westeros: "The Tale of Dunk and Egg", "Ten Thousand Ships", "Nine Voyages" and "Flea End".

The studio has signed universe author George Martin to a five-year contract, but the upcoming series is the only approved Game of Thrones spin-off.