The Hollywood Reporter sat down with Miguel Sapochnik to talk about his new post-apocalyptic Apple film, Finch, and they were able to sneak in some questions about House of the Dragon, of which Sapochnik is a co-showrunner (along with Ryan Condal). House of the Dragon will serve as a prequel to the highly successful HBO series, Game of Thrones, which aired from 2011-2019 and not only earned its name as HBO’s top-rated show in history, but also took home the title of the most Emmy-winning primetime drama of all time.
House of the Dragon isn’t Sapochnik’s first soiree into the world of Westeros. He served as a director for many Game of Thrones episodes, including fan favorites “Battle of the Bastards” and “The Winds of Winter”; however, this will be his first time in the showrunner position.
Of creating something new while also paying homage to the old, Sapochnik said,
"I think we were very respectful of what the original show is. It wasn’t broken so we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. House of the Dragon has its own tone that will evolve and emerge over the course of the show. But first, it’s very important to pay respects and homage to the original series, which was pretty groundbreaking. We’re standing on the shoulders of that show and we’re only here because of that show. So the most important thing for us to do is to respect that show as much as possible and try and compliment it rather than reinvent it.”
From this, fans can gather that this show truly will be something completely different from what we've seen in Game of Thrones all the while still holding true to the heart of the original. Sapochnik also explains that the show will "be something else" and already has "a different crew, different people, different tone." With all of the new creative energy flowing into this show, it is bound to be a winner and really show us a different side to the world Game of Thrones fans already know and love.
Moving from directing to showrunning has proved to be exhausting for Sapochnik. During his interview, he mentions that he's "producing other directors and getting involved in a lot of the minutiae. Directing feels really simple by comparison." And of his days when he is just directing? Sapochnik really enjoys those. He says, "I don't have to think about anything other than directing."
House of the Dragon will be a long-haul project for Sapochnik and the director recognizes that. Of the work he has yet to complete, Sapochnik said, “The journey is the destination and if you can’t enjoy the journey then the destination has so much less meaning.”
Fans are definitely ready to enjoy both the journey and the destination of all the hard work of the cast, crew, and production staff. House of the Dragon will soar to us at some point in 2022 on HBO Max.