House of the Dragon season 3's opening battle is going to be "huge", according to one of the show's stars.
"Again, this battle was an absolute mad one to film," Abubakar Salim wrote on Twitter. "The training done for it all and the choreography was intense. It's going to be huge." Salim plays Alyn of Hull, the bastard son of Lord Corlys Velaryon (who's Rhaenyra's uncle) (and ex-father-in-law…).
Both Alyn and Corlys will be involved in the battle, which is set to be an epic showdown between Team Green vs Team Black. In George R.R. Martin's book, it sees the Triarchy – AKA an alliance of troops from the Free Cities fighting on behalf of the Greens – and House Velayron do battle in the waters, while their dragons fight it out in the skies.
The Battle of the Gullet was originally meant to conclude House of the Dragon season 2, but it was cut down from 10 to eight episodes and now it's kicking off season 3 instead. According to HBO boss Francesca Orsi, it will be "worth the wait," though. "I don't think we had the time at that point to do what it is that we've achieved now this season," she said. "It's just so massive, we needed the time to build it."
Set 200 years before the original Game of Thrones series, House of the Dragon chronicles the bitter civil war between branches of House Targaryen in what became known as the Dance of the Dragons. Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke play the heads of the two warring families, Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower.
House of the Dragon season 3 arrives on HBO on June 21. In the meantime, check out our guide to the rest of the best new TV shows on the way in 2026 and beyond.
