Issue a collective fandom scream because it finally happened! Aegon’s Conquest is officially in development at HBO. You know what this means, ASOIAF fans. Balerion is coming. My boy is on the way!

If you have no idea who Aegon is and what the Conquest was, never fear. Aegon’s Conquest is a period in Westerosi history that predates the events of the Game of Thrones TV show by about 300 years and the events of House of the Dragon by about 100. The Conquest covers the events of Aegon Targaryen and his sisters, Rhaenys (the first one) and Visenya Targaryen, conquering and uniting Westeros from multiple kingdoms into one under the rule of the Iron Throne. Dorne, from whence later came Oberyn Martell, resisted and was brought into the fold later. There are dragons, battles, politics, treachery, love–everything you can expect from Game of Thrones. There is also the biggest dragon known to the Seven Kingdoms–Balerion.

So what are the details? As a prequel to House of the Dragon, Aegon’s Conquest is in development with Mattson Tomlin, co-writer for Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II, at the pen. So, with this show in the works, the chronological watch order would theoretically become Aegon’s Conquest, House of the Dragon, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and Game of Thrones. Tomlin is known for Project Power and various short films, and while we have no confirmation whether or not it will be animated or live-action, I would prefer animation because of the artistry we could see during canon events like the Field of Fire, the burning of Harrenhal, the forging of the Iron Throne, and perhaps if we see it, the Century of Blood. 

Why is Aegon so interesting? Because Martin has confirmed that Aegon was a dreamer and wanted to unite Westeros against the returning threat of the White Walkers. Thus, he sought to establish the Targaryens, aiming to pass down the Song of Ice and Fire so that his house would remain in rule, with their dragons, and would be able to stop the threat when it happened. He’s essentially the reason Daenerys was able to do what she did in the show and bring the dragons to Winterfell to aid in defeating the Night King. This makes him a very interesting character who sought not just to conquer a kingdom but to pull it together to face a threat he knew was coming but did not know if he would live to see.

What are your thoughts on these Targaryen-focused spin-offs and prequels? I, for one, am 100% here for it.