Fans of George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood book will be excited to hear that the Cannibal, an extremely dangerous and unpredictable wild dragon, could finally be featured in House of the Dragon Season 4, as his existence was recently teased by the official House of the Dragon VFX team. House of the Dragon just wrapped up its third season on HBO and HBO Max, leaving fans with the high-stakes First Battle of Tumbleton from George R.R. Martin's source material. Throughout the show's three installments, viewers have been introduced to more than a dozen dragons, but it seems as though one particular beast from the book that has not been featured in the show could be included in the fourth and final season.
House of the Dragon released an official VFX breakdown of House of the Dragon Season 3 following the end of the third installment, and at one point in the video, the VFX artists included a comparison between different designs for Sheepstealer (the dragon belonging to Rhaena Targaryen), with one of those comparison renderings specifically including the name of the Cannibal, a wild dragon that has not been seen in House of the Dragon.
Specifically, in the comparison image, House of the Dragon's VFX artists showcased three different designs for Sheepstealer. The first design showed the dragon's original head and mouth shape, but the second gave Sheepstealer a bit more of an underbite. Notably, some text was included with that second design that read, "Added the under bite similar to Cannibal head design with a stronger jaw."
This is the first time in House of the Dragon history that anyone on the cast or crew has teased that the Cannibal could make an appearance in the show. Since the VFX artists mentioned that the Cannibal has an underbite, it seems as though they have created a model for the wild dragon, which could indicate that he will be included in the fourth season of the HBO show.
It is worth noting that the original design for Sheepstealer did not include an underbite, as both the top and bottom jaws for that dragon were initially going to perfectly meet.
However, as the VFX team explained with that text in the comparison image, they added an under bite for Sheepstealer, which is a quality they pulled directly from the design for the Cannibal.
The final design made Sheepstealer have a much more imposing appearance with the underbite and the crooked, exposed teeth.
Since the Cannibal's design directly influenced Sheepstealer's final appearance, one would have to assume that House of the Dragon's version of the Cannibal would look somewhat similar to Sheepstealer, which would make sense considering they are both wild dragons in the source material.
If the Cannibal does show up, he will most likely also have that underbite that the VFX team talked about, as well as some spikes coming out of his scales, and grayish-black scales. In Martin's Fire & Blood, the Cannibal was described as having coal-black scales and green eyes, so many fans will likely want to see those design choices transferred over to the show.
Unfortunately, the House of the Dragon VFX breakdown video did not include a rendering of the Cannibal's design, so fans will have to wait for him to potentially show up in Season 4 to see what he will actually look like.
The full House of the Dragon VFX breakdown can be seen below:
What Would the Cannibal's Role in House of the Dragon Season 4 Be?
As mentioned, the Cannibal has not been featured in any of the three existing seasons of House of the Dragons. Most likely, his absence has been intentional since, in the source material, the Cannibal doesn't play a role that is too important in the grand scheme of the Dance of the Dragons.
Essentially, the Cannibal is more of a legendary figure within Westeros. His existence was confirmed multiple times, and he resided in the Dragonmont on Dragonstone, but no one was ever able to claim him. As one may have guessed, he got his name due to being the only dragon to feed on other dragons, hatchlings, and eggs, making him a cannibal.
If the Cannibal is included in House of the Dragon Season 4, it will most likely be in an extremely small role and for fan service. It is possible that he could make an appearance at Dragonstone, or flying somewhere in the skies, but it is also possible that it could show the Cannibal eating one of the other dragons.
Notably, in the source material, the Cannibal is one of only four dragons to survive the Dance of the Dragons, so it is also possible that House of the Dragon could include a short montage at the end of the season (since it will be the final installment of the HBO series) that shows what will happen to each of the surviving dragons.
No matter what, A Song of Ice & Fire fans would undoubtedly be happy to see the Cannibal in any regard.
