Why is House of the Dragon changing its cast?

Milly Alcock and Emily Carey have stolen the show in House of the Dragon so far. We’re losing them now. Why is the show changing its cast?

There is some bad news for those who want to see more of Milly Alcock and Emily Carey. They’re among the cast members leaving House of the Dragon for older counterparts. All those who were children at the beginning of the series are leaving after Episode 5. The upcoming episode will see the older cast members.

There’s no doubt that the show is still going to be on point. The older cast members are great, and we’re looking forward to seeing Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke, among others. It’s just a shame that we have to lose younger actors who have already commanded the screen so well.

Game of Thrones didn’t do this. The younger actors stuck around the whole time. Why would House of the Dragon opt for changing its cast?

Time jumps in House of the Dragon

There are a few time jumps in House of the Dragon Season 1. That wasn’t the case in Game of Thrones. The time jumps that did appear really worked with the length of time it took to film each of the seasons.

For House of the Dragon, there isn’t the time to wait for the younger actors to grow up. The show made the decision from the start to do something similar to The Crown, where there would be a cast change to mark the growth from teenagers to 20-somethings.

That’s the sort of time jump we’re seeing. Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower are in their teens right now. We’re looking at 14 when the show started and now we’re at 18 max. The show is jumping the story ahead a few years to get the women into their late 20s. It wouldn’t be realistic to have younger actors play these roles—just as unrealistic it is to have 20-somethings play teenagers.

We’re losing 11 young actors in the coming episodes. Our sister site Winter Is Coming has a list of all of them.

What do you think of the coming cast change in House of the Dragon? Are you ready to see new actors in the roles? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

House of the Dragon airs Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.