by See: Trailer for game of Thrones prequel series house of the dragon
house of the dragon Showrunner Ryan Condal has revealed that a change was made to the George RR Martin books to help the game of Thrones prequel feels “more inclusive”.
The upcoming series, set during the years of the Targaryen dynasty, features House Velaryon, described in the book as having pale skin and purple eyes, with a silver seahorse as their symbol.
Read more: George R. R. Martin wants house of the dragon succeed more than LOTR
In the show, however, the characters will be depicted as black, with silver dreadlocks, and Condal claims this was a decision made deliberately to avoid criticism of the overwhelming whiteness of the original show.
“It was very important for [co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik] and me to create a show that wasn’t just another bunch of white people on screen, just to put it bluntly,” Condal told EW.
He added: “The world is very different now than it was 10 years ago when [Game of Thrones] it all started. It’s different than 20 years ago when Peter Jackson did The Lord of the rings.
“These kinds of stories need to be more inclusive than they have traditionally been.”
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Steve Toussaint leads the Velaryon as Lord Corlys, known as the Sea Serpent and recognized as the greatest navigator in the Seven Kingdoms.
His wife is Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, played by Eve Best, who is a dragonrider and was once in the running to be ruler of Westeros before her cousin King Viserys got the job.
Condal stated that Martin had considered making the Velaryon “a race of silver-haired black people who essentially came from across the ocean and conquered Westeros” in his original books years ago, so he decided to go ahead with it instead. house of the dragon.
The writer added, “That’s a fascinating idea and it always stuck with me because it’s such a raw image. I just thought, ‘Well, why couldn’t we do a version of that now?'”
Read more: George RR Martin says thrones the books will end differently than the tv show
Condal said everyone involved was keen to avoid “symbolism” and introduce more diversity into Martin’s world in a way that felt organic.
He added: “I’ve seen people who look like me on screen in these kinds of high fantasy stories since I was born because I’m a white male. What’s it like for everyone else?
“We went back and just looked at the story and said, ‘How do we do this in a way that it can feel like it’s integrally done with the story?'”
house of the dragon focuses on the reign of King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) and features his children, Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Prince Daemon (Matt Smith).
The cast also includes Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, and Olivia Cooke as his daughter Lady Alicent Hightower.
Read more: Elizabeth Olsen reveals she had “horrible” game of Thrones hearing
game of Thrones fans will soon see their wait come to an end when house of the dragon debuts on HBO in the US and Sky Atlantic in the UK.
Episode one will land on August 22.
See: George RR Martin is very pleased with house of the dragon
