Rhaenyra Targaryen’s dragon has conquered the skies.
Fans of HBO’s House of the Dragon have been spotting a life-sized replica of Syrax, Rhaenyra Targaryen’s dragon, flying around the UK! In the world of Game of Thrones, each Targaryen is bonded with a dragon, and Syrax is Rhaenyra’s loyal companion. Though she hasn’t appeared extensively in the current season, Rhaenyra has raised Syrax since childhood, making their bond a significant part of the story.
A massive, realistic dragon has appeared over Scotland, and videos are going viral! It’s not a real dragon, though – it’s a life-sized animatronic created to promote the upcoming season of House of the Dragon. According to Dexerto, the dragon was launched as part of the celebration for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, which started today, July 23rd, and runs until August 2nd. Footage shows the robotic dragon soaring above the city, and a video from the Daily Record even captured it landing in a field.
The impressive Targaryen dragon was built using scans of Syrax from House of the Dragon, and took over 3,000 hours to create. This life-sized replica is designed to actually fly, using spinning impellers for lift. It features 23 moving parts to make its movements look realistic. A pilot operates the dragon remotely, controlling it across a large area of the city.
Luckily, Syrax doesn’t have the ability to repeat Drogon’s dramatic flight from the end of Game of Thrones season 8. Videos of the dragon flying were shared widely on social media after being spotted early in the mornings of July 21st and 22nd. Considering what happened in season 3, Syrax appearing now is reminiscent of when Rhaenyra arrived in King’s Landing – a key moment that escalated the Dance of the Dragons conflict. This dragon, however, was just for show and wasn’t involved in any power struggles.
Season 3 of House of the Dragon is currently on HBO and HBO Max, with three episodes remaining. It’s one of several shows expanding the world of Game of Thrones. Other upcoming projects include season 2 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, scheduled for next year, and a movie called Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest, which doesn’t have a release date yet.
The dragon sighting is just a small example of the massive scale of production for House of the Dragon, even during events like the Commonwealth Games. It highlights the incredible effort put into promoting the show and building out the world of Westeros as the story unfolds. With the series continuing, we can expect to see even more creative promotional campaigns inspired by moments like Syrax’s recent flyover.
2026-07-23 22:27