'Game Of Thrones' Prequel Series 'House Of The Dragon' Casts Matt Smith And Olivia Cooke

House of the Dragon, HBO's much-hyped Game of Thrones prequel show, has just secured three more lead actors.Matt Smith (Doctor Who, The Crown), Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One), and Emma D'Arcy (Truth Seekers) are about to take a trip to Westeros to star in a story set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones. Read on for details about which characters they'll be playing.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Smith, Cooke, and D'Arcy have just become the latest Game of Thrones prequel series cast members. Smith, whose credits also include Terminator Genisys and Edgar Wright's upcoming Last Night in Soho, will play Prince Daemon Targaryen, who is described as the "younger brother to King Viserys and heir to the throne. A peerless warrior and a dragonrider, Daemon possesses the true blood of the dragon. But it is said that whenever a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin in the air."

D'Arcy (Wanderlust, Hanna) will play Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, who is "the king's first-born child, she is of pure Valyrian blood, and she is a dragonrider. Many would say that Rhaenyra was born with everything...but she was not born a man."

Meanwhile, Cooke (who is great in Amazon's new Sound of Metal) is playing a member of a different House. She'll play Alicent Hightower, who is described by HBO as "the daughter of Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, and the most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms. She was raised in the Red Keep, close to the king and his innermost circle; she possesses both a courtly grace and a keen political acumen."

The report also reveals that Greg Yaitanes (Banshee) has come on board the series as a director and co-executive producer. Clare Kilner (Snowpiercer) and Geeta Patel (The Witcher) have also been hired as directors. They'll join Game of Thrones veteran Miguel Sapochnik behind the camera; Sapochnik will direct episodes of the series and also serve as co-showrunner alongside Ryan Condal (Colony), who co-created this series with A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin.

Paddy Considine (The Outsider, Hot Fuzz) has already been cast in the key role of King Viserys Targaryen, who was "chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King, Jaehaerys Targaryen, at the Great Council at Harrenhal. A warm, kind and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather's legacy. But good men do not necessarily make for great kings."House of the Dragon is expected to debut on HBO sometime in 2022. Check out some recent concept art here.