House of the Dragon: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau can’t bring himself to watch the Game of Thrones prequel

After playing Jaime Lannister on all eight seasons of HBO’s Game of Thrones, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau isn’t in a hurry to return to the realm of Westeros, even to watch the prequel series, House of the Dragon.

While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau said that he hasn’t been able to bring himself to watch House of the Dragon. “I have not,” he said. “One day it came on and I saw the opening credits. And it was a little strange because it was the same music and the title sequence was kind of similar. I was like, ‘Ah, this is too soon. Too soon.’“

The Game of Thrones actor will eventually get around to watching the series, but not for a few more years. “I’ll wait,” Coster-Waldau said. “I’ll give it a couple of seasons, then I can binge watch it and then there’s the whole thing. But I know that so many people love that show, and I’m really happy for them.” Emilia Clarke has expressed a similar sentiment in the past, saying that while she was happy for the people involved with House of the Dragon, she just can’t do it. “It’s so strange,” Clarke said. “It’s kind of like someone saying, ‘You want to go to this school reunion that’s not your year? You want to go to that school reunion?’ That’s kind of how it feels. I’m avoiding it.“

House of the Dragon is based on material from George R. R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood and tells the story of the Dance of Dragons and the events leading up to the brutal civil war. Production on the second season is set to get underway, but it may be a little shorter than the first. A report from Deadline stated that House of the Dragon season 2 will contain just 8 episodes, but an HBO spokesperson claimed that this was a story-driven decision. Executive producer Ryan Condal and George R.R. Martin have been looking at the big picture in order to properly map out the narrative flow. This meant that some of the second season plot, which includes a major battle, has been moved to the third season. While season 3 hasn’t yet been greenlit by HBO, it’s clear they’re thinking ahead.