How Likely It Is We'll See Starks, Lannisters, and More in “House of the Dragon”

Although House Stark is one of the most important great houses in “Game of Thrones,” they’re much less significant in the era depicted in “House of the Dragon.” In “Fire and Blood,” House Stark is mostly in the background during the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war that the new TV show will focus on. The Starks side with Rhaenyra Targaryen, although they’re not in the thick of the war. However, Cregan Stark, the Lord of Winterfell, serves an extremely brief tenure as Hand of the King for one of the last Targaryen heirs.

House Baratheon is the ruling royal house when “Game of Thrones” begins, but it’s not nearly as strong or important during the “House of the Dragon” era. In fact, the house’s origins are actually depicted in the book “Fire and Blood.” The book covers several generations of Targaryen rule, starting with the conquest of Westeros by Aegon I. House Baratheon is founded by Orys Baratheon, one of Aegon I’s generals, when he marries the last heiress of a conquered house. During the Targaryen civil war, however, the Baratheons don’t play a prominent role – which likely means we won’t see much of them in “House of the Dragon.”

While not a major, point-of-view house, House Tully does play a major supporting role in “Game of Thrones.” If “House of the Dragon” sticks pretty closely to its source material, the house won’t be especially pivotal in this particular story. While the Tullys, like all the other great Houses of Westeros, do get involved in the civil war, they aren’t central figures by any means.

The Wildlings, or free folk, live beyond the Wall and remain separate from the Seven Kingdoms. As a result of their cultural and geographical distance from the rest of the continent, they play little to no role in Westerosi politics. The book “Fire and Blood” doesn’t include any stories that prominently feature Wildlings, so it seems safe to say “House of the Dragon” will also keep the Wildlings out of focus.

The warring kings and nobles in “House of the Dragon” have their hands full enough with a human (and dragon) civil war, so it’s a good thing the White Walkers aren’t also on their list of enemies to deal with. “Fire and Blood” has nothing to do with the creatures beyond the Wall, just the actual politics and wars within the Seven Kingdoms. It’s very likely we won’t see these icy zombies in “House of the Dragon.”

The mystical Children of the Forest are a key part of Westeros lore, but they’re supposedly long extinct before “Game of Thrones” starts. If you’re hoping “House of the Dragon” goes far enough back in history to see their era, you’ll unfortunately be let down. The era of the Children of the Forest takes place several thousands of years before “House of the Dragon,” so they’re unlikely to play a role in the new series.

House Martell has a significant history with House Targaryen, as depicted throughout the book “Fire and Blood.” Whether they’ll play just as significant a role in “House of the Dragon” remains to be seen. House Martell and their kingdom of Dorne are pivotal in the early years of Targaryen rule, as they’re the only great house to resist the Targaryen conquest in a meaningful and sustained way. That being said, those events happen a few generations before the civil war shown in “House of the Dragon.” In fact, “Fire and Blood” notes that the only involvement House Martell has in that war is its refusal to take any part in it, so we might not see Martells very much on screen.

So far, House Lannister is the only one of the great houses we know from “Game of Thrones” (other than the Targaryens, of course) that will definitely have some characters in “House of the Dragon.” Two Lannisters are already confirmed for the main cast, with actor Jefferson Hall portraying both Jason Lannister, the lord of Casterly Rock, and his sly, politically minded twin, Tyland. Their choice of which side to back in the civil war has significant consequences, if the show follows the same story as the book.