There’s one chapter left to be told with House of the Dragon season 4, but the question for fans is how long before they begin getting it ready. There have been lengthy gaps between seasons so far, but now one of its core cast members has hinted at when we can expect the cameras to start rolling.

During an interview with ScreenRant, Olivia Cooke was asked whether she’s started work on the final season, and if not, how long until she’s back in the Seven Kingdoms and getting up to her elbows in treachery and familial bickering on an epic scale.

“I haven’t. I haven’t. We start filming next spring, but I don’t really know,” Cooke explained. “I’m sure it’ll take me ages. You know, I’m English. My emotions are far, far deep down. […] you know a year later that I’ll finally feel the grief from that show ending.”

If history has shown us anything, the chances are that she’ll be grieving along with the rest of us when you consider how long between each season’s release. Since its 2022 debut, a new season of House of the Dragon has been released every two years, which hasn’t helped the show overall. A recent report confirmed that year-long breaks between seasons have led to viewership drops, which begs the question of whether House of the Dragon’s final chapter will end on a high, or barely keep the fires burning.

It’s worth considering that following last season’s events, Alicent could find herself emotionally charged after the death of her daughter. Might she hold Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) responsible, or could there be other issues to address, specifically the union formed between Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Aemond (Ewan Mitchell)?

For now, we can only sit and speculate and hope that the gods are a little kinder in getting us to the show’s finish line and that it doesn’t end on such a divisive note as Game of Thrones did.

House of the Dragon season 4 releases in 2028. For more from the world of Westeros, here’s every upcoming Game of Thrones movie and TV show in the pipeline.