This is how they created the incredible dragons of "House of the Dragon" 4:41
(CNN Spanish) --
"The people who don't believe in dragons, the dragons end up eating them from the inside," says Valentín Muro, writer and co-host of the podcast "Give me fire" about "House of the Dragon", paraphrasing a work by Ursula K. LeGuin.
It is his answer to the question as to whether he believes those reptilian-faced winged beasts ever existed.
The doubt that can assail many in real life was also a recurring unknown almost until the end of "Game of Thrones".
Queen Cersei Lannister and her private council doubted the veracity of Daenerys Targaryen's fire-breathing children until the last moment.
When the queen of the dragons arrived in Westeros, she surprised everyone with her deadly beasts and they were essential for the outcome of the series.
After a closure that disappointed many viewers in 2019, in August of this year HBO premiered the prequel "House of the Dragon", which narrates events that occurred 200 years ago from the original story and focuses on the Targaryen dynasty with the fierce dragons as one of the protagonists.
“We only knew of three prior to this and they were very similar to each other.
Now we can see a great visual richness and in many ways, such as different specimens of the same species," says Muro.
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In an interview with Wired magazine, Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal, executive producers and showrunners of the prequel, said that advances in special effects technology and CGI made it more eye-catching and more detailed.
"For example," said Sapochnik, "there are flies on the dragons...seeing those little shapes circling around, it gives you the feeling that there is something more real about this dragon than meets the eye."
Condal added that they have “a distinctive personality trait and a place in history, because they are a fact of life in this world.
They have different ages, sizes, shapes, silhouettes and colors.”
A diversity imagined by George RR Martin himself, author of the books and texts that inspired the audiovisual universe of “Game of Thrones”.
The result on screen is impressive.
“When creating a dragon, at least in “Game of Thrones”, you could tell that the three that were there were more or less the same, but of different colors.
In this case, there are changes in visual design, sound and creation level.
In the first episode you can already see two that are very different”, says film analyst Jordi Maquiavello.
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With a budget of less than US $ 20 million per episode, according to what a source close to the production told Variety magazine, and thanks to technical advances, the creators have achieved fascinating beasts.
In addition, they have added a different component to "Game of Thrones", where there were three horsemen (John Sow, Daenerys and The Night King), but only the Targaryen queen had a special bond with her dragon.
“One of the most popular is Caraxes, the one ridden by Daemon Targaryen, who is one of the most beloved characters by fans.
It is noted that the rider is the same as the dragon.
Even in design, not only in how he is but in the sound that he emits as well, you can tell that he is a twisted dragon, like I love him”, comments Machiavelli.
Muro adds that there is "a very strong aspect of the personality of each male and female dragon."
Almost as if it were a “telepathic” link with the person who rides it.
To the point that, due to certain situations, we can suspect that they can feel what is happening to their riders.”
(Credit: HBO)
Good reception for the series
At its premiere in August, “House of the Dragon” had 10 million viewers on linear television and the streaming platform HBO Max in the US It was “the largest audience for the debut of any original series in history from HBO,” the network said.
Before the end of the first season, which is broadcast this Sunday, the series accumulates an 85% positive rating in the "tomatometer" of the audiovisual review site Rotten Tomatoes.
While you wait for the release of the tenth chapter of the first installment, we invite you to discover curiosities behind the scenes of the series and see the full interview with Valentín Muro and Jordi Maquiavello in the video that accompanies this article.
HBO and CNN en Español share the parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.
House of the Dragon