House Of The Dragon Season 2 Aiming For "Bigger And Better" Battles

House of the Dragon stunt coordinator Rowley Irlam has teased some epic battle sequences to come in Season 2. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Irlam was asked if any battles in Season 2 might compare to the Battle of the Bastards sequence from Game of Thrones.

Hirlam said he would still be "very proud" of House of the Dragon if Season 2's battle sequences can't top Battle of the Bastards or other large-scale battles from the original show.

"We haven't given up, and the desire is always to go bigger and better--but to not repeat," Irlam said. "We don't want 'Battle of the Bastards 2' or 'Hardhome 2' or 'Spoils of War 2.' We're always trying to find new sequences we can get our teeth into."

Irlam won four Emmy awards for Game of Thrones. He was also asked if House of the Dragon could break Game of Thrones' record for most number of people on fire in a single scene. Irlam said he's under a non-disclosure agreement, so he can't reveal if Season 2 sets a new record for most people on fire. "But if a scene demands it and that's something [the producers] want, then we will accommodate," he said.

Also in the interview, Irlam set the record straight for an online debate about House of the Dragon Season 1. In a pivotal scene, Daemon (Matt Smith) gets a horse to rear up and toss off its rider, his wife Rhea Royce (Rachel Redford). Some people said this probably wouldn't or couldn't happen in real life, but Irlam said it is indeed possible. For House of the Dragon, though, the horse completely vaults over backwards, and that was a "cinematic interpretation" of reality, Irlam admitted.

"The way we did it was Matt grabs the reins of the horse and pulls hard. I promise you: If you do that to a horse, it will pull back, even when there's an actor on them," Irlam said.

House of the Dragon Season 2 is filming now, despite the writers' strike remaining ongoing. A release date for Season 2 hasn't been announced yet, however.