House of the Dragon Co-Creator Just Set Expectations for the Future After Season 4 — and Fans Won’t Like It

Not the news that die-hard Game of Thrones fans were probably hoping to hear: Ryan Condal, the bloke steering the ship on House of the Dragon, isn’t exactly chomping at the bit to stick around Westeros once this dragon-fuelled ride is over. As the show’s third season gets ready to drop, Condal’s made it pretty clear he’s seeing a finish line in sight—for him, at least.

Condal on His Future with Thrones: Don’t Hold Your Breath

Ahead of season 3, Condal chatted to Deadline about his plans once the prequel series wraps up. Plenty of fans have been laying bets on which corner of George R.R. Martin’s universe HBO will jump to next—and whether Condal would keep his hands on the wheel. His response? More or less: thanks, but I’ve said what I wanted to say.

Not exactly the open door some were hoping for. If you’re waiting for the Condal touch on a Jon Snow spinoff, you might want to adjust those expectations.

Where’s Condal’s Focus Now?

While viewers haven’t even seen season 3 yet (that kicks off on 21 June), Condal says he and the team are already elbows-deep in prepping season 4. It’s a bit of a treadmill, apparently—the sort of scenario where, as Condal puts it, it feels like 'a snake eating its tail,' because you’re always juggling a million moving parts and rarely get to focus on just one bit of the show at a time.

That fourth season, by the way, is still meant to be the end of the road for House of the Dragon. Don’t expect it to go on forever—Condal is firmly in the 'all good things come to an end' camp, which, honestly, is probably just as well for anyone who remembers how Thrones itself spiralled by the finish.

But Wait, He’s Still HBO’s Guy

Here’s the slightly strange bit: even though Condal’s looking to wave goodbye to all things Targaryen, he’s just signed a new deal to stay on at HBO through 2029. So he’ll be making more stuff, just not necessarily in dragons-and-scheming territory. When asked, he basically said it was 'to kind of establish the beginning of the next chapter, whatever that happens to be.'

• Current status: Condal focused on House of the Dragon, prepping 4th and final season
• No spin-offs planned (for him): He’s all but ruled out more Thrones after this
• HBO deal: Extended through 2029—so expect new projects, just not Westeros-based ones
• Next up for viewers: House of the Dragon season 3, premiering 21 June

For Thrones fans hoping for more Condal in their fantasy TV diet, looks like this is it—for now, anyway.