Celebrated author George R R Martin says he watched the pilot episode of HBO's upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon and absolutely loved it.
Based on Martin's book Fire & Blood, "House of the Dragon" is set over 300 years prior to the events of Game of Thrones, which ended its eight-season run on HBO in 2019.
The show tells the story of House Targaryen and the Targaryen civil war, known as the "Dance of the Dragons".
In a post on his official blog, Martin said he saw the "rough cut" of the first episode.
"I am anticipating ‘House of the Dragon’ pretty eagerly myself, for what it’s worth. Okay, I am hardly objective. And I know a lot of what you will be seeing. (I, um, wrote the book).
"Also... mum’s the word now, don’t tell anyone... I’ve seen a rough cut of the first episode. And loved it. It’s dark, it’s powerful, it’s visceral... just the way I like my epic fantasy," the 73-year-old writer said.
Martin praised showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik for doing an "amazing job" with the series.
"Ryan and Miguel have done an amazing job, and the cast… just as with GAME OF THRONES, most viewers will only have heard of a few of the actors, but I think you are going to fall in love with a lot of them. (Only to have your heart broken later when… but no, that would be telling)," he wrote.
House of the Dragon will feature an ensemble cast of Paddy Considine, Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno and Fabien Frankel. The series will make its debut on HBO in 2022.