Summary
- HBO’s upcoming Game of Thrones prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, is based on George R.R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novella trilogy.
- The series will follow the first novella, The Hedge Knight, and will likely make some tweaks to keep the story fresh and unpredictable.
- Filming for the spinoff is expected to begin in early 2024, but the release date will likely be in middle to late 2025. No cast announcements have been made yet.
With the announcement that HBO is producing a prequel to Game of Thrones, based on George R.R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novella trilogy, here’s everything that’s been announced about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. HBO’s Game of Thrones franchise has adapted multiple stories from Martin’s bibliography including A Song of Ice and Fire which became the flagship, eight-season Game of Thrones series, and Fire & Blood, which has been adapted into the prequel series House of the Dragon. The shows depict the fantasy, medieval world of Westeros and the fight for dominance between the many Houses and nobles of the Seven Kingdoms.
The third of these adaptations has been announced for Max, the combined HBO Max and Discovery Plus streaming service. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight is set between House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones. Martin published Tales of Dunk and Egg in 1998 with The Hedge Knight and finished the trilogy with The Sworn Sword (2003) and The Mystery Knight (2010). These three novellas were then published in a collection, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2015). The Max series will follow the first of these three novellas and will likely make a few tweaks to keep things fresh and unpredictable.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight Latest News
The latest update on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight is that the next Game of Thrones spinoff should begin filming in early 2024. The series had previously been delayed by the Writer’s Guild of America strike that ran throughout the summer of 2023, but it was able to move forward once the strike was resolved in September. However, the tentative start date of “early 2024” is still contingent on the resolution of the ongoing SAG/AFTRA strike which saw many of Hollywood’s onscreen performers join their writing colleagues on the picket lines.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight Is Confirmed
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight was first teased to be in early development in 2021 (via Variety). The Game of Thrones spinoff was then confirmed on April 14, 2023, by Warner Bros. The HBO Max Twitter made a post depicting a map of the Seven Kingdoms with the overlay, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight” presented by HBO Originals. The caption of the post reads, “A century before #GameofThrones, there was Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg.”
HBO Max also announced some of the attached crew for the spinoff series. Ira Parker, who was the co-executive producer of season 1 of House of the Dragon, and Ryan Condal and Vince Gerardis, both veteran producers of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, will serve as executive producers on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. Martin is also attached as a writer and an executive producer.
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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight Release Date
There has not been a release date set for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight but the Game of Thrones spinoff will most likely follow a similar production schedule to the earlier George R. R. Martin adaptations. If production does actually begin in early 2024, it will still probably be a little while before it finally comes to air, since the shows are often special effects extravaganzas that require a lot of post-production time. That being said, the earliest that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight could be expected would be middle to late 2025.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight Cast
No cast announcements have been made for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight but there will be a lot of speculation regarding the casting of the two main characters, Sir Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg. The relationship between the pair, one of a low-born but honorable knight protecting a high-born prince pretending to be a commoner to get to know the people of Westeros, will require confident actors who have immediate chemistry.
Too much time passes between House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight so none of the characters should appear in the new spinoff. It is also too soon for any major characters from Game of Thrones to appear, but one supporting character may briefly appear. Brynden “Bloodraven” Rivers is a brother to a Targaryen King who acts as master of whisperers in Tales of Dunk and Egg, but he only appears sporadically throughout the series.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Story Details
HBO has released the official synopsis for the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. The Game of Thrones spin-off follows Sir Duncan the Tall, a hedge knight, and his young but courageous squire, Egg. They travel across Westeros, interacting with the common people and the lords and ladies under the rule of the Targaryens, who are in the later stages of their rule – which may be disappointing to House Targaryen fans looking forward to dragons.
If the series follows Tales of Dunk and Egg closely, Egg will be quickly revealed as Aegon V Targaryen, the youngest son of King Maekar I Targaryen. Aegon “Egg” decides he wants to learn how the smallfolk live, and Duncan the Tall, a lowborn soldier of immense strength and skill is picked to accompany him. Egg learns what life is like for the common folk and Dunk learns about chivalry and honor. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms depicts one of the few times in Westeros when things are at peace but all the while, the seeds of the wars to come in Game of Thrones are planted.
Source: HBO Max, Variety
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
