'House of the Dragon' showrunners reimagined some characters as Black because they didn't want it to be 'another bunch of white people on the screen'

• "House of the Dragon" will premiere on August 21st.

• Ryan Condal explained why the Velaryon family is black.

• He didn't want the show to be tokenism and they wanted to put diversity in it.

"House of the Dragon" is the first of many planned "Game ofThrones" spinoffs that will explore more corners and time periods of author George R.R. Martin.

Ryan Condal explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the show was a remake of the original books.

Condal said that it was important for them to create a show that was not a bunch of white people on the screen. We didn't want to do it in a way that felt like it was an unimportant part of the show.

The story of House Targaryen's fall from prominence after a civil war will be told in the political drama at the center of "House of the Dragon."

Even before the Targaryens, the Velaryon family was in Valyria. Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen are in charge. Steve Toussaint was cast in the role of Lord Corlys Velaryon for the "Fire and Blood" adaptation.

The decision to show House Velaryon as the first Black family with significant power in Game of thrones was made by Martin.

According to Condal, Martin toyed with the idea of depicting the Velaryons as Black conquerors from the west.

The lack of diversity on screen and behind-the-scenes of "game of thrones" has been a long-discussed criticism of the show, where nearly all of the major families in the show were portayed by white actors.

Missandei and Grey Worm were two of the few non-white characters in the show. There were criticisms that the show didn't include more people of color who weren't narratively connected to slavery and that the show had a white Savior as she gained power in Essos.

Most of the people of color on the show were told the story of how they came to be. There was a renewed discussion about the show's handling of Black characters after Missandei's murder.

Fans will have to wait and see how the characters are given back stories and dramatic arcs of their own. There is a new show on August 21. Everything you need to know about the series can be found here.

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