Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin has shared some of the historical influences behind the upcoming HBO show House of the Dragon, which is based on his novel Fire and Blood. As part of the SDCC panel on the show, Martin said he gets inspiration from history and turns it up to 11.

"Game of Thrones, as I’ve said, was based on the Wars of the Roses," Martin said. "[House of the Dragon] was based on an earlier period in history called the Anarchy. I pilfered freely from history. When Henry I, when his only legitimate son drowned, he was left with his own legitimate child Matilda, he made her heir and then made his lords swear their fealty to her. Then when he died, her cousin came in and there was this big war that she wound up fighting for decades."

“I get inspiration from history and I turn it up to 11.” – George R. R. Martin #HOTDSDCC #HouseoftheDragon

— House of the Dragon (@HouseofDragon) July 23, 2022

The real-life war between Empress Matilda and Henry I's nephew Stephen of Blois seems to mirror the events that will unfold in House of the Dragon, which similarly takes place hundreds of years before Game of Thrones.

In this story, there's a power struggle between King Viserys Targaryen's brother and daughter that leads to the civil war known as the Dance of Dragons. In House of Dragons, that conflict will play out between Emma D'Arcy's Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Matt Smith's Prince Daemon Targaryen. When asked why Westeros has such a problem with queens, Martin said the answer lies in history.

"That was the inspiration there," Martin said. "I don’t think Westeros is any more anti-woman than real life. What we call actual history."

It's been a busy week for House of the Dragon already. We got a brand new trailer a few days ago that honed in on the queenly conflict at the heart of the prequel. We learned the series will incorporate multiple time skips, that it may serve as a foundation for other Westeros stories, and that its redesigned Iron Throne includes 2,500 swords. We also learned about some of the other unused Game of Thrones prequel ideas, and spotted a handful of new stills from the show.

After a week of new interviews, images, and trailers, today's SDCC panel on Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon gave us a look into what it's like to ride a dragon in the show, and the answer is apparently pretty weird.

Milly Alcock, who plays the young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen described dragon riding to the audience. She said they worked on a stage that was "basically the size of this whole hall" (that would be San Diego Comic Con's Hall H), and:

"You’re propped up on what looks like a mechanical bull that you might ride in a bar or pub and it lifts up six feet in the air and there are four guys with leaf blowers," she said. "It's strange."

Additionally, Paddy Considine, who plays King Viserys Targaryen, confirmed he does not ride a dragon in the show. “The only dragon I’ve ever ridden is the one from Neverending Story," he said, referring to a fairground ride he had experienced.

It's been a busy week for House of the Dragon news. We got a brand new trailer a few days ago that honed in on the queenly conflict at the heart of the prequel. We learned the series will incorporate multiple time skips, that it may serve as a foundation for other Westeros stories, and that its redesigned Iron Throne includes 2,500 swords. We also learned about some of the other unused Game of Thrones prequel ideas, and spotted a handful of new stills from the show.

And there's tons more coming from all your favorite shows, films, games, and more out of San Diego
Comic-Con 2022, and we've got the full schedule to guide you through the weekend of panels, announcements, trailers, and surprises.

Queen Studios has quickly made a name for itself on the collectibles scene thanks to a series of MCU statues and busts that are so lifelike it's scary. And thanks to Comic-Con, IGN had the chance to see several of these pieces up close.

Check out the slideshow gallery to see these incredibly realistic busts of Chris Evans' Captain America, Tom Holland's Spider-Man, Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange and more:

For those who have never beheld a Queen Studios product in person, the company is renowned for using a combination of medical-grade silicone, glass eyeballs and hand-punched hair to create stunningly lifelike (albeit extremely expensive) pieces. Their new Captain America bust may just be their most impressive yet, though the bust is certainly rivaled by the 1:2 scale statue also on display in the Queen booth.

That's not to say Queen only focuses on MCU characters. This year's Comic-Con booth also features upcoming pieces inspired by Egyptian mythology, science fiction and horror. There's even a Jurassic Park-inspired T-Rex statue from Queen's partner Elite Creature Collectibles.

Sideshow Collectibles also has quite an impressive spread at Comic-Con this year, including some gorgeous Star Wars, Marvel and DC statues and a whole lot of Hot Toys figures. IGN also got an early look at the next wave of Mandalorian figures in the works at Hasbro.

There's tons of news for all your favorite shows, films, games, and more coming out of San Diego Comic-Con 2022, and we've got the full schedule to guide you through the weekend of panels, announcements, trailers, and surprises.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Black Adam has gotten a new trailer at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, and it showed off the newest DCEU anti-hero facing off against the Justice Society's Atom Smasher, Doctor Fate, Hawkman, and Cyclone. It was also confirmed that Amanda Waller will once again play Amanda Waller in the film.

The trailer was revealed at DC's San Diego Comic-Con panel following a big entrance by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in full the Black Adam outfit. Johnson quickly changed out of the costume and walked back on stage saying, "I heard Black Adam was here, that's so cool!"

Johnson also shared a few words about why this journey becoming Black Adam was such a special one for him.

"it has been a long journey, fueled with passion, with commitment, with grit," Johnson said. "It’s been easily over 10 years. I’ve been working with [director Jaume Collet-Serra] for about 5 years now and so that’s when he came on board for this. The journey has been an incredible one. I love coming to Comic-Con. To be here in Hall H, representing a DC anti-hero is a dream come true. The dream, having been in the business for years now, I’d bring movies here and hope you guys would like them but this is a dream come true."

Speaking of Collet-Serra, he also discussed what intrigued him about taking on this project and what the core of Black Adam is all about.

"What attracted me to this was obviously working for DJ one more time but also Black Adam as a character," Collet-Serra said. "This man was a slave thousands of years ago, and in our movie, he awakens in modern times and that’s something that’s unusual. I like movies with characters who work in a grey area with their own sense of justice and morality. Like movies in the 70s like a Dirty Harry character. When the system is broken and corrupt and can’t protect the innocent the system needs to get brought down. There’s also heart in the movie and a sense of family in the movie."

There were a few other nice moments from the panel, including when Hawkman actor Aldis Hodge said that when Johnson called him about the role and eventually welcomed him to Black Adam, his "brain exploded. It was the "greatest moment" of his career.

Lastly, Johnson was asked if Black Adam or Superman would win in a fight.

"Don’t threaten me with a good time," Johnson laughed. "As you guys know, since we’re in deep with this mythology. Pound for pound they’re pretty close. I think it all depends on who’s playing Superman. I’ll just say that. I’ll leave it at that.”

Black Adam introduces the DC antihero in live-action, and Johnson has teased that it's the start of a series of movie appearances. We can likely expect to see Adam cross paths with traditional foe Shazam in future, but Johnson also wants to fight Superman down the line. To do so, the artist-formally-known-as-The Rock wants to surpass the original comic book character's physique.

Black Adam will be released on October 21. Joining Johnson in the title role are Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate, Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Cintineo as Atom Smasher, and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone.

Alongside Black Adam, Shazam: Fury of the Gods received its first trailer and it was filled with the Shazam-ily, Helen Mirren's Hespera, and references to the DCEU and Fast & Furious.

For more on San Diego Comic-Con, check out our roundup of everything announced so far!

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Black Adam made a shocking live appearance at San Diego Comic Con today at the Warner Bros. panel, descending from the heavens amid a lightning storm into Hall H.

Through fog and lightning, the Man in Black has finally arrived to Hall H. #BlackAdam #SDCC pic.twitter.com/CaVR88w8Sk

— DC (@DCComics) July 23, 2022

Not long after Black Adam had come and gone, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson emerged, saying "I heard Black Adam was here, that's so cool." Very cool, Mr. Johnson, very cool indeed.

Johnson, who obviously plays Black Adam in the upcoming film, spoke on stage about his experience with the role:

“The journey for Black Adam, it has been a long journey, fueled with passion, with commitment, with grit," he said. "It’s been easily over 10 years. I’ve been working with Jaume [Collet-Serra] for about five years now and so that’s when he came on board for this. The journey has been an incredible one. I love coming to Comic-Con. To be here in Hall H, representing a DC anti-hero is a dream come true. The dream, having been in the business for years now, I’d bring movies here and hope you guys would like them but this is a dream come true."

Later on the panel, Johnson was asked who would win in a fight: Black Adam or Superman.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time. As you guys know, since we’re in deep with this mythology. Pound for pound they’re pretty close. I think it all depends on who’s playing Superman. I’ll just say that. I’ll leave it at that.”

And a kid also asked him if Kevin Hart got jealous when Johnson was cast as Black Adam.

"Yes, Kevin Hart gets jealous with everything," he replied. "Also, you’re already taller than Kevin Hart."

Black Adam is set for release on October 21, introducing the DC antihero in live-action for the first time, and Johnson has teased that it's the start of a series of movie appearances. Joining him are Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate, Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Cintineo as Atom Smasher, and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone.

There's tons of news for all your favorite shows, films, games, and more coming out of San Diego Comic-Con 2022, and we've got the full schedule to guide you through the weekend of panels, announcements, trailers, and surprises.