House of the Dragon boss reveals brutal fight scene with children

House of the Dragon may be moving away from Game of Thrones' unflinching depiction of sexual violence, but there are still set to be some difficult scenes in the upcoming spin-off.

As we inch ever closer to House of the Dragon's long-awaited premiere this weekend, showrunner, executive producer, and director Miguel Sapochnik has revealed that there is one "quite taxing" moment in the new series that was tough to film.

And, we suspect, touch to watch, too.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk, Sapochnik explained: "I had a scene where five kids between the ages of 9 and 12 had to beat each other senseless."

milly alcock as young rhaenyra targaryen and emily carey as young alicent hightower, house of the dragon

HBO

Revealing that the scene took "three days to shoot", the House of the Dragon boss went on to say that one of the children "stabs another". "It was quite, quite taxing," he added.

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In a slightly less depressing update, Miguel also revealed how the prequel series will differ from Game of Thrones, saying that there will be "more nuance".

"The original Game of Thrones was about multiple different families over multiple different continents," he explained. "This one is about one family kind of in one place fighting with each other. So it gives us more time to spend with less characters.

"There are quite a few, but... I think you get more nuance."

matt smith as daemon targaryen in house of the dragon

sky//HBO

We'll get to see that nuance when House of the Dragon arrives in a few days' time. Starring Matt Smith, Paddy Considine, Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke, and Rhys Ifans, the new series is set 200 years before the events of Thrones and follows the Targaryen War of Succession.

House of the Dragon will premiere on August 21 in the US on HBO, and on August 22 in the UK on Sky Atlantic and NOW. Game of Thrones seasons 1-8 are available on DVD and Blu-ray.