Game of Thrones’ House of the Dragon Prequel Casts Its Viserys Targaryen

Games of Thrones might be dead and gone, but HBO’s prequel series House of the Dragon is just getting started. In fact, Entertainment Weekly reports that the series has found its first lead character, King Viserys Targaryen. 

Paddy Considine, whose recent credits include Peaky Blinders and The Outsider, has reportedly been cast as Viserys Targaryen in the upcoming prequel. Despite his family’s reputation (and his future namesake we all knew and hated in Season 1 of Game of Thrones), Viserys may actually be a decent guy. His character description reads: “King Viserys Targaryen is chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King, Jaehaerys Targaryen, at the Great Council at Harrenhal. A warm, kind, and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather’s legacy. But good men do not necessarily make for great kings.”

Besides filling us in on some of our first details about this character, that character description also clues us in on the world we can expect to see in this new series. Much like the original series, it sounds like House of the Dragon will kick things off as a major shift in leadership is occurring in Westeros. And with new leadership comes new power struggles and machinations from the other houses. The wheel never stops turning, does it?

Paddy ConsidinePhoto: Getty Images

Entertainment Weekly also detailed a few other new characters, though none of them have been cast yet. Here’s what we know so far about the four other Targaryens we’ll see in this series…

First is Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, King Viserys’ daughter and chosen heir. Not only will she be a dragon rider, but she will also apparently have grown up expecting to become the first ruling Queen of Westeros. Queen Alicent Hightower, Viserys’ wife, is another family member to look out for. As Viserys’ second wife and Rhaenyra’s stepmother, she is described as an ‘ambitious’ woman with three children of her own with the king. Hm, we wonder how she feels about Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne? 

We imagine Alicent’s sons Aegon II Targaryen will play an important role in the series, as Viserys’ male heir who has been overlooked in favor of his firstborn half-sister. Aegon’s character description teases that he will challenge Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne, igniting a civil war. Finally, we have Prince Daemon Targaryen, an experienced warrior and Rhaenyra’s uncle. Let’s hope he’s on her side, but considering he too could have a claim to the throne, we won’t hold our breath.

No official premiere date has been set for House of the Dragon.

House of the Dragon Photo: HBO