Game Of Thrones Prequel House Of The Dragon Begins Production Next Year

A tweet from the official Game of Thrones account said: "Dragons are coming. #HouseoftheDragon begins production in 2021."

Based on George R.R. Martin's 2018 book Fire and Blood, the eagerly-anticipated project will be set 300 years before the events in Game of Thrones took place.

Over the course of 10 episodes, it will tell the story of the House of Targaryen - the house that produced Mother of Dragons, Daenerys Targaryen, of couse.

The show will primarily be filmed in England.

A first look for the show was shared earlier today by Warner Media CEO Jason Kilar - as part of a blog post explaining a decision taken by Warner Bros. to debut all of its 2021 films on HBO Max at the same time they open in cinemas.

Kilar said: "Principal photography starts on the next 'Game of Thrones' series, 'House of the Dragon,' in a few months.

"Look out for dragons overhead!"

Miguel Sapochnik has already been confirmed as director - which bodes very well indeed, as he was the one who brought us 'Battle of the B******s', 'Hardhome' and 'The Long Night', which were some of GoT's biggest and best episodes across its eight-season run.

While the full cast has not yet been revealed, we do know the series will star Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen - his role was announced in October.

HBO said in a statement: "Paddy Considine (HBO's The Third Day and The Outsider) will be playing King Viserys Targaryen. Viserys was 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 as we've learned from Game of Thrones, good men do not necessarily make for great kings."

"We look forward to exploring the origins of House Targaryen and the earlier days of Westeros along with Miguel, Ryan [co-creator Ryan Condal] and George."