Watch the First Behind-the-Scenes Featurette for HBO's 'House of the Dragon'

The long-awaited Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon, draws ever closer. With around a month to go before its late-August premiere date, HBO has just released the show's first behind-the-scenes featurette, giving fans a more intimate look at the production of this ambitious series.

In this teaser, you'll see shots of dragons flying over King’s Landing, a look at the black skull of Balerion the Black Dread, and plenty of hints of the battles to come. Check it out below:

In addition to all the great new footage and teases, the featurette also includes plenty of face time with House of the Dragon’s two showrunners, Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik.

“I feel incredibly loyal and responsible to the original show. I have a great kind of desire to even be in the same room as [Game of Thrones], because it was a game changer,” said Sapochnik, who directed several of the best episodes of the original show. “The idea of going back to Westeros was almost too much of a challenge. You have to start by respecting it. You can’t start by doing different for different’s sake … It really was seeing it through a different perspective that interested me.”

Sapochnik and Condal share a vision of honoring the original series and the work of George R.R. Martin while still forging ahead. “[Miguel] saw some of the things that I saw, and it wasn’t just a prequel for prequel’s sake,” said Condal, who handles most of the writing duties while Sapochnik focuses on the directing. “There was actually a reason to tell the story.”

While Sapochnik directed great Game of Thrones episodes like “Hardhome,” “Battle of the Bastards,” and “The Winds of Winter,” Condal came personally recommended by Martin. “George and his writing was a huge influence on me,” Condal explained. “It’s an incredible feeling to achieve my dream job. You get that great call which is the thing that every writer is hoping for, telling you ‘We’re gonna go make this thing.’ And you’re happy for a few seconds … and then you realize the responsibility that’s on your shoulders.”

Among those feeling the pressure is Martin himself, who wrote the book that House of the Dragon is based on, Fire & Blood. “I’m excited,” the author said. “It’s always a little apprehensive when you turn your baby over to foster parents, but I’m involved in this. It’s great to have Ryan, who’s a great writer and someone who really knew my world. He’s gonna do his best to remain faithful to it. I knew Miguel Sapochnik was an amazing director. He’d won an Emmy, he’d done some of our best episodes.”

House of the Dragon premieres August 21 on HBO and HBO Max.