'House of the Dragon' Season 4: Ryan Condal teases final season and 2028 return

'House of the Dragon' showrunner Ryan Condal previews final season and explains why fans may wait until 2028

House of the Dragon will return for a fourth and final season, with showrunner Ryan Condal teasing what lies ahead following the events of the season three finale.

The third season ended with major deaths and the Targaryen civil war continuing, but Condal said the conflict is entering a new phase in which dragons will become increasingly important.

"There's definitely no winner at the end of Season 3. It's just death and destruction," director-producer Andrij Parekh said in HBO's post-show documentary.

Condal added, "We're entering into the end of days phase of the Dance of the Dragons [the Targaryen civil war]. Armies really don't matter anymore. What's going to matter coming into this end game is who's got a dragon and which dragon is on which side and fighting for whom."

The death of Helaena Targaryen also carries significance for the final season. Condal explained that her death affects the Targaryen dynasty because she was a dreamer.

"It's a magic going out of the world when a Targaryen dreamer dies. As rare as the dragons are, the dreamers are even rarer. Now, to know that we are going forward without one of these in the line spells a certain darkness for the days to come for the Targaryen dynasty."

Condal confirmed that work on season four was already underway in June, saying the writers' room was actively developing scripts and sending drafts to HBO.

However, viewers are unlikely to see the final season before summer 2028 at the earliest. The series has followed a two-year release pattern since its debut in 2022, while its production requires extensive preparation, filming and visual effects work.

Condal acknowledged the wait, explaining, "It takes a long time to make the show. Prep and shooting of the show — and this is after scripts are written — take a year, and then it takes seven-eight months to make dragons. So, do the math. It's not possible to come out every year. I'm very sorry, but you guys decided to be fans of the show called House of the Dragon."