‘House of the Dragon’: HBO Releases Opening Credits With Familiar Theme Music (VIDEO)

Matt Smith and Milly Alcock in House of the Dragon
Ollie Upton / HBO

The much-anticipated Games of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon premiered last week to much fanfare and excitement as viewers finally got their first look at the earlier generation of Targaryens. But fans were still waiting for one crucial piece of the puzzle — the opening credits and theme song!

With the second episode airing on Sunday, August 28, HBO has now revealed the brand new opening credits (watch below), which sees an animated sequence of blood rising from various symbols on the floors of a model stone city. Viewers track the river of blood as it flows through the city streets and eventually converges at the insignia for House Targaryen.

But the most important part is that the title song is the same as the original Game of Thrones theme music. Composed by Ramin Djawadi, who wrote the score for the original George R.R. Martin fantasy drama, the classic signature melody of Thrones is repurposed here for the Targaryen spinoff series.

“We very much wanted to keep the DNA alive for House of the Dragon from the original show,” Djawadi previously told Entertainment Weekly. “We will hear themes that we remember from the original show, but because it’s all new characters, this is 200 years before, there is a ton of new material I’ve written, a lot of new themes that we will hear.”

It was announced on Friday, August 26, that House of the Dragon has already been renewed for a second season. The series, which is co-created by Martin and Ryan Condal, is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and focuses on the inner workings of House Targaryen, from which Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) descended.

“We are beyond proud of what the entire House of the Dragon team has accomplished with season one,” HBO’s Executive Vice President of Programming, Francesca Orsi, stated on Friday. “Our phenomenal cast and crew undertook a massive challenge and exceeded all expectations, delivering a show that has already established itself as must-see-TV… We couldn’t be more excited to continue bringing to life the epic saga of House Targaryen with season two.”

Check out some of the reaction to the opening credits below.

House of the Dragon, Sundays, 9/8c, HBO & HBO Max