A fan dressed as “Lady Beetlejuice” outside the San Diego Convention Center during Comic-Con 2022. Photo: AP
It is estimated that in total there will be more than 120 thousand people in the immense Congress Center and neighboring areas, where the gigantic facades of the buildings are traced with the advertising of the new series of the different television channels and streaming platforms.
There are posters and banners all over the historic Gaslamp Quarter, with titles as varied as The Lord of the Rings: The rings of power of Amazon Prime, the eternal The walking dead by AMC, She-Hulk: lawyer from Marvel / Disney + and the ubiquitous Star Trek universe by Paramount +.
Dogs also dress up to go to Comic-Con. Photo: AFP
There was also an “activation” (as the marketing areas like to say) that stood out for its staging, ambition and originality, called The dragon house: the dragon’s lairor the lair of the series’ key mythological animals The house of the dragonwhich will be seen on August 21 on HBO Max.
As with many activations, it was installed practically on the sidewalk in front of the Congress Center, and since the early hours of the first day of Thursday hundreds of fans began to queue, most of them equipped with folding chairs for make waiting more comfortable, as the activity started at 10 am and you could only enter in groups of twelve people.
The immersive experience
The Series The house of the dragon belongs to the franchise of the famous books by George RR Martin and is a prequel to the hugely successful series Game of Throness, which had eight seasons.
The story of this House of the Dragon It takes place 200 years earlier and the centerpiece of the story is the battle for power within the Targaryen family, which threatens to plunge Westeros into a war of fire and blood.
The facade of the castle of La Casa del Dragon at San Diego Comic-Con.
The whole original immersive experience that was put together at Comic-Con is based on a dragon egg ceremony. Seen from the street, you can see the facade of a castle with a wall scratched by the enormous claws of a dragon. The slogan of the posters and banners is eloquent: “Fire will reign”.
A market full of actors disguised as artisans, merchants and soldiers has been recreated in front of one side of the entrance. They all speak to the audience and sport a British accent with Old English words and phrases.
Actors dressed as medieval soldiers in front of the La Casa del Dragon experience at San Diego Comic-Con.
The idea is to enter a medieval city, enter a castle, choose a dragon egg, establish a bond with the animal before it breaks the egg, take a photo on the throne and see the little creature appear in a dragon app phone.
Except for the cell phone details, it’s basically about experiencing a Targaryen in the fantasy world created by writer George RR Martin.
Step by step
The room with the 12 eggs. Photo courtesy of HBO Max
Once inside the castle, the Dragonkeeper (Guardian of Dragons) points the way through dark corridors and the first staircase requires each of the 12 people to choose a dragon egg and hold it for a while with respect and concentration. “Fear can be good because it provides respect,” says the guide. The egg is about 30 centimeters high and weighs 2 kilos.
A dragon egg. Photo courtesy of HBO Max
Then, you have to advance with the egg into a room full of candles surrounding a giant dragon skull. You must bow down and establish the connection with the creature that will hatch from the egg. Each passage is narrated with great credibility by the Dragonkeeper, who never loses the tone of the character.
The huge dragon skull surrounded by candles. Photo courtesy of HBO Max
One of the final steps is to reach a cave where everyone has to deposit their egg in an opening. Then, after passing through the Game of Thrones Room, where you are invited to sit and be portrayed by a camera (the photo is later accessed via the official website).
Game of Thrones, inside the castle built for the activation of the House of the Dragon, at Comic-Con in San Diego. Photo courtesy of HBO Ma
Before leaving, you need to open an App on your phone and point to a drawing of an egg that acts as a QR code. The dragon gets its name and hatches instantly.
The app was made by the same creators of the famous Pokémon Go and is called House of the Dragon: DracARys. During the weekend it could only be downloaded by those who are at Comic-Con, but from Monday 25 it is available for free for everyone from the Apple and Google stores.
Panel with George RR Martin
George RR Martin at San Diego Comic-Con. Photo: AFP
Saturday afternoon, the author of the saga himself game of Thrones (and this prequel) was featured in the immense Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center, which has a seating capacity of 6,000.
George RR Martin, 73, has taken a break from writing the last pages of the latest book in the saga Song of ice and fire. He took the stage and spoke to the panel about how difficult it is to give a job to the world of film and television.
Ryan J. Condal and George RR Martin at the “House of the Dragon” panel. Photo: AP
“My books and characters are like my children, so when you sell the rights to your children it’s like giving a child up for adoption and then being very worried if they will treat him well. But I was very lucky, they did a great job.” , he assured in front of thousands of spectators, some dressed as characters from his novels.
Despite being the creator of this story, which comes just three years after the television finale of game of ThronesMartin himself admitted that he did not see the end: “I only saw nine of the 10 episodes of the first season”.
“The cast is amazing, but due to the pandemic I haven’t had the opportunity to visit them in the studio like I did with game of Thrones“, he has declared.
An image of The House of the Dragon, which will arrive on HBO Max on August 21st.
The new series is based on the novel Fire & bloodwritten by Martin himself, and its plot focuses on the fate of the Targaryens, ancestors of Daenerys, before the war for the Iron Throne began.
Before the questions of the followers, the author took the opportunity to explain why in his stories power refuses to fall into the hands of women.
“My books are fantasies, but I take a lot of inspiration from history,” he defended. “I don’t think the kingdom of Westeros is more misogynistic than the real world or what we call history.”
When asked how he viewed a good king, Martin replied, “Someone who considers it a chore and an obligation rather than a privilege. If you lived in Westeros, you’d probably be more interested in having a king build roads than a king. . ” king who started wars “.
The writer also claimed that the story is based on real events from an English civil war called “The Anarchy” (Anarchy), when the daughter of King Henry, heir to the throne, was usurped by her cousin.
“My books are fantasies, but I start from historical facts and raise the volume to eleven. And I don’t think Westeros is more misogynistic than reality itself. “
The Dragon House, from HBO Max
For his part, the creator of the series, Ryan Condal, has promised that the new series will have “fire, blood and many dragons”.
Prequel cast includes Emma D’Arcy (Rhaenyra Targaryen), Matt Smith (Daemon Targaryen), Paddy Considine (Viserys Targaryen), Steve Toussaint (Lord Corlys Velaryon), Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen), Olivia Cooke (Alicent Hightower), Rhys Ifans (Otto Hightower) and Fabien Frankel (Criston Cole), among others.
It will not be the only production derived from the universe game of Thrones premiered on HBO Max, which is already developing another series on the novel Dunk and eggand the creation of The Nine Journeys, on the sea voyages of Corlys Velaryon.
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Marcelo Fernandez Bitar
Source: Clarin
