House of the Dragon’s Matt Smith On the Challenge of Living Up to GoT

Matt Smith, star of the upcoming Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon, hopes that the show can differentiate itself from its predecessor. Smith will be playing prince Daemon Targaryen, ancestor of Daenerys Targaryen, in the upcoming HBO series, which will be released at some point in 2022. The prequel series is based on George R.R. Martin’s novel Fire and Blood from 2018, which explored House Targaryen’s downfall.

Predating the events of Game of Thrones, which ran from 2011-19 and generated an immense following, House of the Dragon is set to add detail to the backstory of Westeros’ Targaryen dynasty. Audiences were able to get their first look at the show when a House of the Dragon trailer released in October 2021, confirming that the show would feature the same level of medieval-style combat, violence, and continent-spanning drama that made Game of Thrones so successful. After appearing on screens as the Doctor in Doctor Who and Prince Philip in The Crown, Smith will be leading House of the Dragon alongside a cast which includes Olivia Cooke, Rhys Ifans, and Paddy Considine.

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Now, the British actor takes the opportunity to explain his feelings about how the House of the Dragon will compare to Game of Thrones. In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, the actor states that he hopes his new show can “evolve” past the original series. He also acknowledges that Game of Thrones is going to be a hard act to follow, referencing the fact that it managed to create a “huge fandom.” Check out Smith’s full comments below:

It’s obviously a big challenge for all of us that have taken it on. There’s such a huge fandom that surrounds [Game of Thrones], and rightly. It left a footprint in many ways, and it will be hard to repeat that. Let’s hope [House of the Dragon] evolves into something different.

Smith is right to acknowledge that House of the Dragon has a huge challenge on its hands if it is to successfully follow Game of Thrones. The original HBO series succeeded by forging a unique, gritty world in which the stakes were always as high as the spectacle, and audiences will be expecting nothing less from the prequel. What could make that challenge even harder is the fact that Game of Thrones’ season 8 was so divisive. The series was widely considered to have dramatically dropped in quality over the course of its concluding season, and in doing so, it lost a lot of goodwill with its fanbase.

Nevertheless, the series was still one of the most successful ever made, and it created a hardcore international following. Attempting to return directly to the show’s popular formula of seasons 1-7 would be risky, however, as it would invite direct comparisons to a highly acclaimed run of TV. If the spinoff is going to successfully reignite the love Game of Thrones received at its peak, it will have to evolve beyond it. Smith’s comments seem to make it clear that that is exactly what the House of the Dragon team intends to do.

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