George R.R. Martin was forced to miss the ‘House of the Dragon’ premiere after testing positive for COVID-19.
George R.R. Martin has tested positive for COVID-19
The 'Game of Thrones' creator's spin-off series had its launch at San Diego Comic-Con in Los Angeles on Wednesday (27.07.22), but the novellist was absent after he caught the virus.
HBO and HBO MAX’s chief content officer Casey Bloys told attendees: “I was going to start today by introducing George R.R. Martin and tell you how great it is to have George on the journey with us.
“Unfortunately, George got COVID at Comic-Con, so he’s not here. I think he’s feeling fine, so nothing to worry about."
The 10-episode show will tell the story of House Targaryen and is set a few hundred years before the events depicted in 'Game of Thrones'.
Fans of Martin will be aware that Viserys ruled Westeros around 100 years after Aegon's Conquest. His two children, Rhaenys and Aegon II, went on to fight a civil war over the throne that was famously known as the Dance of Dragons.
'House of the Dragon' is based on the author's companion book 'Fire Blood' and HBO ordered it straight-to-series.
'Game of Thrones' regular Miguel Sapochnik directed the pilot and additional episodes and acted as showrunner alongside Ryan Condal, who created the upcoming show with Martin.
The network is also working on a trio of prequels which will all be set before the events depicted in the fantasy drama series - which ended in 2019 after eight seasons - and will tell the stories of characters who played vital roles in the history of the world explored by the novels.
Two of the projects have the working titles '10,000 Ships' and 'Flea Bottom'.
The third spin-off, '9 Voyages', is being developed by 'Rome' co-creator Bruno Heller and will focus on nautical adventurer Lord Corlys Velaryon aka The Sea Snake.
'House of the Dragon' debuts on HBO and HBO Max on August 21.