In 2022, House of the Dragon brought the Game of Thrones universe back to TV screens with a bang (or dragon fire).

Believe it or not, House Targaryen is now more relevant than ever, even more than four years after the conclusion of Game of Thrones, which is especially surprising given how the juggernaut TV show ended in such infamous fashion. But here we are, nearly a year on from House of the Dragon‘s glorious debut, eagerly awaiting its second season.

The prequel revealed how the madness all began for the Tagaryens, and its first season was a harrowing journey for viewers, to say the least. At the heart of that story were King Viserys I, his daughter Princess Rhaenyra and his brother Daemon, as a tale around the Iron Throne ad the king’s health took center stage.

The renewed interest in the Targaryens, as well as the breakout performance from Milly Alcock as the younger Rhaenyra, has made fans nostalgic over Emilia Clarke’s equally as awe-inspiring breakout performance as Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones. This has led to one creator imagining what it would be like if the most famous Targaryen were to appear on the show about her ancestors.

Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys returns in House of the Dragon fan video

An awesome video from YouTube user Stryder HD imagines what it would be like if Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys Targaryen appeared on House of the Dragon. Above you can see what the actress would look like as Emma D’Arcy’s Rhaenyra in the sixth episode, “The Princess and the Queen,” with Deepfake technology.

Stryder HD also reimagined Clarke as Rhaenyra in the third episode of the season, “Second of His Name,” in the place of Alcock. You can check that video out here.

The videos are not only incredibly convincing, but the scenes look like they’ve been taken straight from one of the earlier seasons of Game of Thrones. And it gives us a glimpse of just how awesome it would be to see Daenerys back on our screens.

Is Emilia Clarke in House of the Dragon season 2?

An Emilia Clarke return as Daenerys Targaryen would send the internet into meltdown but the likelihood of that happening is incredibly low. The first episode of House of the Dragon was set 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen, and even though that season played out over a decade, there are still a lot of years between these events and Game of Thrones.

As always, there have been rumors that Emilia Clarke could show up in a future season but unless she plays a cameo appearance in another role, it simply wouldn’t make sense for Daenerys to appear before her own birth.

Anything can happen in the Game of Thrones universe so we’ll not completely rule it out, but from the videos above, we can definitely say it would be amazing to see Daenerys back on our screens in the future – especially after the divisive way the writers chose to wrap up her story on GoT.

When can viewers expect House of the Dragon season 2?

House of the Dragon season 2 is likely to premiere on both HBO and Max (formerly known as HBO Max) sometime in 2024, potentially eyeing a summer release date. That would make sense given how successful the first season’s summer arrival was, and even with the extended wait, there will likely be a lot of buzz around it when it does premiere.

Fans were hoping that the second season might premiere in 2023 after its early renewal last year, but that was always going to be a tall task due to the show’s scope (not-to-mention the fact that production wasn’t set to commence until spring 2023). There may be a wait, but if House of the Dragon season 2 is anything like the first season, it will hopefully be worth it!