Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, pauses production in the UK after an individual among the cast and crew tests positive for COVID-19, via The Hollywood Reporter. Filming will resume on Wednesday.
“As part of the righteous testing implemented for all production employees, a Zone A production member on House of the Dragon tested positive for COVID-19,” HBO said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter. “In compliance with industry guidelines, the production member is in isolation, and close contacts will be required to quarantine.”
House of the Dragon is set 300 years before the original series and chronicles the Targaryen family in Westeros. Ryan Condal (Colony) and Miguel Sapochnik will serve as the showrunners, and Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin will executive produce. The series will star Matt Smith (The Crown) as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Emma D’Arcy (Truth Seekers) as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Steve Toussaint (Prince of Persia) as Lord Coryls Velaryon, Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One) as Alicient Hightower, and Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill) as Otto Hightower.
House of the Dragon is one of many productions to be shut down in the UK as the positive COVID-19 cases spike in the country. Netflix’s Bridgerton has also halted production on their second season for the second time in the UK as well as their feature adaptation of Matilda due to the virus.
Nearly 52,000 tested positive for the virus on Friday, and there were 49 deaths as well as Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Shunak being forced to go into quarantine after coming in contact with secretary Sajid Javid, who tested positive for COVID-19.
The pause in House of the Dragon comes amid fears of rises in COVID-19 cases in the UK as the country ends most of their COVID-19 restrictions, including ending mask mandates.
House of the Dragon is the first of six planned spin-offs for the Game of Thrones franchise as well as a Broadway production featuring new actors playing characters from the original series. The prequel is set to have a ten-episode run with Greg Yiatanes (Lost), Claire Kilner (How to Deal), and Geeta V. Patel (Dead to Me) attached as the directing team.
House of the Dragon will premiere in 2022 on HBO.