Warner Bros. has officially announced a release date and director for Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest, the first feature film to stem from the HBO franchise.
Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest will open in theaters on June 9, 2029. Owen Harris will direct from a screenplay by Beau Willimon (House of Cards). The film will adapt material from George R.R. Martin’s Targaryen history book, Fire & Blood.
Harris is no stranger to Game of Thrones, having directed episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Harris also directed three acclaimed episodes of Black Mirror (“Be Right Back”, “San Junipero”, and “Striking Vipers”).
Martin’s Fire & Blood chronicles the history of the dragon-riding Targaryen dynasty, including the Dance of the Dragons civil war depicted in House of the Dragon. The Targaryens arrived in Westeros following the Doom of Valyria, settling on the island of Dragonstone. By the time Aegon reached adulthood, he made it his mission to unite the long-warring Seven Kingdoms under the rule of one man: himself.
Aegon I Targaryen is responsible for countless deaths in his quest to become the sole ruler of the realm. He’s aided by his sister-wives Visenya and Rhaenys. All three siblings fly fearsome dragons: Aegon rides Balerion the Black Dread, Visenya rides Vhagar (yes, the same giant beast flown by Aemond in House of the Dragon), and Rhaenys flies Meraxes.
Aegon battles a slew of kingdoms during the Conquest, but his two biggest adversaries are King Harren the Black, the wicked lord of Harrenhal, and Meria Martell, the princess of Dorne. Meria and Dorne’s resistance against Aegon the Conqueror was notably recalled by Ormund Hightower to Daeron Targaryen in House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 5.
The Game of Thrones series has established that Aegon knew about the White Walkers and passed this secret knowledge down the generations from ruler to ruler. Aegon foresaw a great looming terror in the North, which convinced him that a Targaryen must occupy the Iron Throne when that dark day arrives to ensure humanity’s survival.
Bringing Aegon’s Conquest to the big screen poses a host of challenges for the filmmakers, several of which I break down here.
