The cities of Ouarzazate and Essaouira are both often used in Hollywood films and international TV series.
Rabat – Television network HBO has announced a new series entitled House of the Dragon. The new series will be set in the same universe as the famous drama series Game of Thrones. The announcement comes only a few months after the broadcast of Game of Thrones’ final episode.
House of the Dragon will be a prequel set 300 years before the events of Game of Throne and will tell the story of House Targaryen and their ascension to power.
#HouseOfTheDragon, a #GameofThrones prequel is coming to @HBO.
The series is co-created by @GRRMSpeaking and Ryan Condal. Miguel Sapochnik will partner with Condal as showrunner and will direct the pilot and additional episodes. Condal will be writing the series. pic.twitter.com/9ttMzElgXm
— Game of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) October 29, 2019
Just like its predecessor, the new series will film scenes in Morocco, according to George R.R. Martin, the creator of the Game of Thrones universe.
“As yet, we don’t even know where we will be shooting… though I expect we will revisit at least some of the countries David & Dan used for Game of Thrones (Ireland, Iceland, Scotland, Croatia, Morocco, Malta, and Spain),” the author published on his blog.
The dragons are coming…back. We have a green light for a GAME OF THRONES successor show… HOUSE OF THE DRAGON is the title and needless to say it will be centered on House Targaryen and based upon Archmaester Gyldayn’s imaginary history FIRE & BLOOD. https://t.co/FNSh0PFv59 pic.twitter.com/0Jm2f5sGYD
— George RR Martin (@GRRMspeaking) October 31, 2019
Game of Thrones’ producers shot several scenes of the show in Morocco. The cities of Essaouira and Ouarzazate served as a background for Essos, a continent in the world of Game of Thrones known for its deserts and dry climate.
The city of Ouarzazate is known as the “Moroccan Hollywood,” its studios are some of the largest in the world. Ouarzazate served as a backdrop for movies such as The Mummy, Gladiator, and Kingdom of Heaven. A number of episodes from TV series were also shot in the Moroccan city, including Vikings and Prison Break.
HBO has not yet announced a release date for the new series.
In May 2020, HBO will launch their online subscription platform HBO Max in the United States. Fans will be able to watch the new series on the platform, along with a number of other titles including Friends, South Park, and The Big Bang Theory.
HBO Max will compete with a number of other platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, AppleTV+, and Hulu.