Meta description: House of the Dragon Season 3 is in production for HBO — here is what has been confirmed about Spanish locations, returning cast, and the show’s expanding global footprint.
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Wide cinematic shot of a sun-bleached medieval Spanish coastal town at golden hour, ancient stone watchtowers above a turquoise sea, dramatic clouds, very high resolution, mood of grandeur and incoming conflict. NO TEXT, NO LOGOS, NO DRAGONS, NO MODERN OBJECTS. 16:9, 1200×675, editorial cinematic style.
HBO’s House of the Dragon, the prequel to Game of Thrones based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, is in active production on its third season. Season 2 closed on a slow-burn cliffhanger that set up the actual outbreak of the Dance of the Dragons civil war, and Season 3 has been positioned by HBO as the season the long-foreshadowed war finally lands. Here is what has been confirmed by HBO and its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, and what is solid reporting from credible outlets.
HBO Confirmed Renewal Early
HBO renewed House of the Dragon for a third season well before Season 2 had completed its airing — an early signal of confidence in the franchise’s role inside the network’s prestige slate. The renewal was widely reported by The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, and HBO’s then-content chief confirmed the network’s commitment to multiple additional seasons during press for Season 2.
Showrunner Ryan Condal returned for the new season alongside the core production team. The writers’ room has continued to draw on Martin’s source text, with the dance of the dragons as the structural spine for the season.
Spain Becomes the Show’s Backlot
House of the Dragon has used Spain heavily since its first season. Cáceres, in the Extremadura region, has appeared as King’s Landing exteriors and the streets of various Westerosi cities. The Trujillo walled town, also in Extremadura, has served as additional medieval-city material. The Spanish coast around the Costa Brava and the cliffs near the Basque Country have stood in for Dragonstone and other coastal Westerosi locations.
Massive sandstone medieval cathedral interior — Cáceres, Extremadura style — with dust motes in beams of light streaming through high windows, no people, very atmospheric, photojournalism aesthetic.
Spain’s combination of preserved medieval architecture, varied terrain within short driving distances, and a strong industry tax-credit framework has made it one of the most reliable filming destinations for high-end international television over the past decade. The Spanish Film Commission has actively courted productions like House of the Dragon, and Game of Thrones itself used many of the same Spanish locations across multiple seasons.
The UK Base at Leavesden
While Spain handles much of the season’s exterior work, the show’s anchor production is at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Hertfordshire, England — the same purpose-built backlot complex that has historically housed Harry Potter, Mission: Impossible, and numerous Warner productions. The standing sets for the Red Keep interiors, Dragonstone’s halls, and several recurring throne-room scenes are at Leavesden, where the show built and maintains its core architectural environments between seasons.
Wales has also continued to feature, with Anglesey and the Pembrokeshire coast previously used for coastal dragon sequences in earlier seasons. The pattern is consistent with how prestige UK television balances studio interiors with carefully chosen international exteriors.
The Cast
Emma D’Arcy returns as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Olivia Cooke continues as Alicent Hightower — the central rival figures whose blood-feud the show is structured around. Matt Smith returns as Daemon Targaryen, and Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen. The full ensemble has been a moving target as the war introduces new bannermen, council members, and dragon riders, with multiple casting announcements expected as principal photography continues.
Release Window
HBO has not locked a public premiere date for Season 3 at the time of writing. The show’s heavy visual-effects pipeline — dragons rendered shot by shot, large-scale battle sequences — typically extends post-production well beyond what a normal drama series requires. An anticipated 2027 release window has been floated by trade reporting from Deadline and others, although HBO itself has emphasized that quality concerns will dictate the final date.
Aerial shot of rugged, treeless dragon-country terrain at dawn — dramatic ridgelines, no buildings, no people, Iceland or Northern Spain feel, ultra cinematic.
The Bigger Picture
House of the Dragon’s continued success is central to HBO’s broader Westeros expansion. The spin-off pipeline — including a Jon Snow-centered sequel that has been publicly discussed but never green-lit, and an animated companion that has been in development — depends on the parent show maintaining its audience. Spain has, in effect, become the production base of a sustained American prestige franchise, paid for via UK and European tax-credit structures and powered by a deeply experienced regional crew base.
For more on how international productions are reshaping where major television gets made, see our coverage of Georgia’s role as Hollywood South and the rest of the Filming News archive.