“Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke has no interest in watching the show’s spin-off, “House of the Dragon.”
Clarke, who played Daenerys Targaryen in the fantasy drama series that ran from 2011 to 2019, told Variety that she avoided watching the show’s prequel, House of the Dragon, because she “just didn’t can do what”.
Also about the Targaryens, “House of the Dragon” tells the story of the royal family’s civil war, which took place about 200 years before the events shown in the original series.
Based on parts of George RR Martin’s 2018 novel Fire & Blood, the legendary show stars Paddy Considine, Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith, Tom Glynn-Carney, Milly Alcock, Emily Carey, Olivia Cooke and Rhys Ifans .
When asked to take part in the prequel series, the British actor spoke passionately about why watching the show is so difficult for her.
“It’s too weird. I’m so glad it’s happening. I am full of interest in all the prizes… I just can’t. It’s so weird. It’s so weird,” Clarke said at the Sundance Film Festival while promoting her new romantic comedy, “The Pod Generation.”
Comparing watching the show to an awkward reunion with old classmates, Clarke added: “It’s like someone saying, ‘Do you want to go to this school reunion that’s not your year?’ Do you want to go to that school meeting? That’s how it feels. I avoid it.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Clarke showed love for Season 1 co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik, who teamed up with her to shoot some pretty epic episodes of “Game of Thrones.”
“I love it. Brilliant. Incredible,” he said of the director.
Clarke isn’t the only “GoT” star who didn’t seem too keen on watching “House of the Dragon.”
Talking to Il Associated press in 2021, Kit Harington — who played Jon Snow in “GoT” — shared his reluctance to commit to the series, adding that “there’s going to be cruelty there.”
“There’s an emotion to it for me,” she said of the show at the time. “I think I see people wearing clothes and suits that look like what I’ve been wearing all these years and that [has] the same music, the same style and tone, but not being in it will always feel – there will be a rawness there.”
“House of the Dragon” is available to stream on HBO. Season 2 will be launched in 2024.
