The upcoming Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, is set to feature a 10-year time jump in its very first season. It has been reported that this time jump will occur about midway through the season, and it will mean that two lead female characters will be played by two different actors.
Season One of the Game of Thrones prequel will open with its two female leads, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) and Lady Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey) when they are teenagers, but with the inclusion of this time jump, they will then be played by Emma D’Arcy and Oliva Cooke respectively.
These two characters will be the only ones affected by the time jump though because the lead male characters in the series will be played by the same actors, due to them already being much older than the female characters. We of course mean Paddy Considine and Matt Smith who will be portraying King Viserys I Targaryen and Prince Daemon Targaryen.
The co-showrunner for the series is Ryan Condal, and in a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Ryan said, “This is how you tell this story correctly. We’re telling a story of a generational war. We set everything up so by the time that first sword stroke falls, you understand all the players.”
Time jumps are a seemingly popular narrative tool these days in both TV and film. It is a craze that a lot of screenwriters use to explore a story with a little bit more depth; showing the before and after is something that lets you connect with characters more, meaning the middle part is the mystery.
This series is set to take place around 200 years before the events of the original HBO series and will be based on the Targaryen civil war that fans have heard so much about. House of the Dragon will premiere on August 21, so try and set a reminder if you haven’t already.