{"id":693373,"date":"2026-06-09T11:30:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T11:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/693373\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T11:30:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T11:30:08","slug":"emma-darcy-matt-smith-at-house-of-the-dragon-premiere-bloodbath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/693373\/","title":{"rendered":"Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith at ‘House of the Dragon’ Premiere: “Bloodbath”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe rain cleared just in time for the House of the Dragon<\/a> cast to fire up the red carpet<\/a> at season three\u2019s world premiere Monday night.<\/p>\n

\n\tReturning players Emma D\u2019Arcy, Matt Smith<\/a>, Olivia Cooke<\/a>, Fabien Frankel, Steve Toussaint, Harry Collett, Tom Glynn-Carney, Ewan Mitchell, Bethany Antonia and Phoebe Campbell all graced the carpet at London\u2019s Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square, where an enormous dragon skull sat atop a bed of candles, in honor of the Targaryen clan. They were joined by supporting cast members Abubakar Salim, Clinton Liberty, Kurt Egyiawan, Tom Bennett, Gayle Rankin, Kieran Bew and Abigail Thorn as fire spouted across the carpet.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFor the first time, there\u2019s momentum in her campaign,\u201d British star Emma D\u2019Arcy told The Hollywood Reporter about Rhaenyra, who heads into this latest instalment, premiering June 21 on HBO<\/a> and HBO Max, aiming to take back the Iron Throne after a deal made with Cooke\u2019s Alicent Hightower.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn season three, the political back-and-forth has now become all-out warfare: Rhaenyra intends to kill Aegon (Glynn-Carney) in full view of the public to quash any doubt over her heirship. \u201cThere is a feeling that the position she finds herself in is fated in some way\u2026 [It\u2019s a] character who has been kind of restrained from action for two seasons [who is] finally on the precipice of seizing her end,\u201d D\u2019Arcy added.<\/p>\n

\n\tSmith, playing the magnetic, bloodthirsty Daemon, admitted it\u2019s a scaled-up season compared to previous outings. \u201cI think they\u2019ve aimed for scale, blood. It\u2019s a big bloodbath, really, this season,\u201d he smiled to THR, \u201cwhich is absolutely where it\u2019s needed to go. I think that\u2019s when the show is actually operating at its best in many ways \u2014 particularly for Daemon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does Matt Smith care about fan reaction to season three of #HouseoftheDragon<\/a>?<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely\u2026 Everyone has their own opinion, particularly on George [R. R. Martin]\u2019s work. But for me personally, it\u2019s their show.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/DDnqiwTciH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tThe impatience over the build up to this war has divided fans of the HBO show so far. Does Smith himself care about that reaction? \u201cOh, absolutely,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s all about the fans. That\u2019s why we\u2019re here. That\u2019s why we go and work in [U.K. studio] Leavesden for eight months a year. It\u2019s never going to appeal to everyone. Everyone has their own opinion, particularly on George [R. R. Martin]\u2019s work. But for me personally, it\u2019s their show,\u201d he said. \u201cWe make it, we do all that work, and then we hand it over. I hope it delivers on the scale that we want it to for them,\u201d he added. \u201cIf it doesn\u2019t\u2026 Who knows? Only time will tell. But it\u2019s completely about the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tD\u2019Arcy concurred with their co-star, telling THR about the making of this third season: \u201cWe all felt it, even on the page. There is an increased ambition to the set pieces, but also to the narrative drama. It\u2019s really a conflict that\u2019s been building for two seasons, [it] suddenly ignites, and there is stakes, therefore, everywhere. It\u2019s exciting when you feel there\u2019s been a bar raise. I think you want to meet it, and I think certainly the acting company felt like that at the start of last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGlynn-Carney, meanwhile, said that what\u2019s in store for Aegon this season might just teach him a few things. \u201cHe\u2019s taking some twists and turns, and he\u2019s learning a lot about who he wants to be as a man,\u201d said the actor. \u201cI think the overriding feeling for me this year with Aegon is that he\u2019s just put into so many situations where he\u2019s having to choose about various things, and I think every outcome has a knock-on effect on the man that he\u2019ll end up being.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tToussaint also returns as the Sea Snake Corlys Velaryon and said keen-eyed fans might want to prepare themselves for the infamous Battle of the Gullet. \u201cThe thing is, you read the script and you go, \u2018Oh my God, how are they going to do that?’\u201d he said to THR. \u201cAfter that, you have to just think of it as a character in the piece. When you\u2019re in your own battle, you don\u2019t think to yourself \u2018This is epic, what I\u2019m doing.\u2019 You just want to survive, and I think that\u2019s how we decided how we were going to play it: \u2018We just want to win this war and go home.\u2019 And then, if it proves to be epic, if it proves to be seismic,\u201d he added, \u201cthen great.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCollett, whose character Jacaerys is also fighting for Team Black, teased some of the clashes he and his mother face in the season ahead. \u201cThe whole family line is driving him,\u201d he said about what\u2019s motivating Rhaenyra\u2019s eldest son. \u201cThe protection of his mother, the fact that he thinks she keeps falling into traps on her own, and he can\u2019t stand by it\u2026 And he\u2019s a bastard. I feel like if his dragon and crown were stripped from him, he would just be a bastard, and then he would not be happy with that. So he\u2019s fighting for that too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHouse of the Dragon remains one of HBO\u2019s most popular shows following the critical and commercial acclaim bestowed upon Game of Thrones. It is set to culminate with season four, showrunner Ryan Condal said in 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis next season will be the first House of the Dragon content in two years. Among the characters joining the conflict are James Norton as Lord Ormund Hightower and Dan Fogler as Ser Torrhen Manderly. Tom Cullen will also star as Ser Luthor Largent and Tommy Flanagan as \u201cWinter Wolf\u201d leader Lord Roderick Dustin.<\/p>\n