House of the Dragon co-showrunner leaves series ahead of season 2

House of the Dragon co-showrunner, executive producer and director Miguel Sapochnik is exciting the HBO series ahead of its second season.

After pouring out three years of effort into the Game of Thrones prequel, Sapochnik says his decision to leave is the "right choice" for him "personally and professionally."

"Working within the Thrones universe for the past few years has been an honour and a privilege, especially spending the last two with the amazing cast and crew of House of the Dragon," Sapochnik said in a statement.

"I am so proud of what we accomplished with season one and overjoyed by the enthusiastic reaction of our viewers. It was incredibly tough to decide to move on, but I know that it is the right choice for me, personally and professionally.

"As I do so, though, I am deeply comforted to know that Alan will be joining the series. He's someone I've known and respected for a long time, and I believe this precious series could not be in safer hands.

"I am so glad to remain a part of the HBO and House of the Dragon family and, of course, I wish Ryan and his team success and all the best with season two and beyond."

The move comes on the heels of the series premiere after Shapochnik delivered 25 million viewers in its first week since release and helping score House of the Dragon a quick renewal.

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The director was initially very reluctant to officially join the project, a stance that perhaps foreshadowed his current exit.

Sapochnik began his career as a storyboard artist on 1996's Trainspotting and then directed Repo Men and episodes of Fringe and House.

But it was on Game of Thrones that his career took off. Sapochnik directed fan-favourite episodes such as Hardhome, Battle of the Bastards and The Winds of Winter.

With Sapochnkik exiting, another Game of Thrones veteran, Alan Taylor, will assume the role of showrunner and will executive produce and direct multiple episodes in season two.

Currently, House of Dragon team is focusing on finishing VFX shots for season one and writing the scripts for season two.

No filming date has been announced for season two but seeing how the first season took 10 months to shoot and another nine months of VFX work, the series is most likely to return only in 2024.

This article was first published in Geek Culture.