House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal has said that the next season of the hit HBO fantasy series will see five new dragons, US-based entertainment magazine The Hollywood Reporter reported on Thursday.

“You’re going to meet five new dragons,” Condal said during a For Your Consideration (FYC) event for HBO on Wednesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The decision to revamp the fire-breathing creatures came after writer George R. R. Martin, who wrote the novels on which the television series is based, praised the prequel’s creativity, Condal said.

He added that the upcoming season would start filming “very shortly” in 2023. He was joined by Martin and eight cast members of House of the Dragon —Rhys Ifans (Otto Hightower), Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen), Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon), Fabien Frankel (Criston Cole), Matt Smith (Daemon Targaryen), Olivia Cooke (Alicent Hightower), Paddy Considine (King Viserys/Targaryen) and Emily Carey (young Alicent Hightower) — at the event in Los Angeles.

Following a screening of Season 1’s eighth episode, ‘The Lord of the Tides’, the panel participated in a session with actor-comedian Josh Gad. While praising the depiction of his beloved dragons in the prequel series, Martin said, “They had personality. They came alive. It came as great satisfaction to me,”

Martin’s praise of the House of the Dragon’s fire-breathing creatures came after revealing he wasn’t as impressed with those presented in Game of Thrones, “They were all the same.”