- The series will be based on George R. R. Martin’s Tales Of Dunk and Egg
- The show is a prequel to Game Of Thrones, and set almost 100 years after House Of The Dragon
- Filming took place for three months in June 2024, and was wrapped by September
- Peter Claffey will play Dunk / Ser Duncan the Tall, and Dexter Sol Ansell will play Egg / Prince Aegon Targaryen
- The release date has been confirmed by HBO as “streaming in 2025”, while Martin believes “maybe in the fall”
Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight is the next HBO show based on George R. R. Martin novels.
When Game Of Thrones departed its other-worldly realm for good back in May 2019 – for better or worse, given that divisive ending – it left a giant, dark fantasy-shaped hole in many of the legions of fans lives.
House Of The Dragon was the prequel follow up from creator George R. R. Martin (and Ryan Condal), launching in 2022, but the demand was still there for more fantastical adventures and storytelling from the multi-million selling author.
And he’s delivered; with another swash-buckling epic tale called A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms. This is yet another prequel to Game Of Thrones – but set almost 100 years after events of House of The Dragon – part of the A Song Of Fire And Ice franchise.
It will be based on Martin’s series of fantasy novellas called Tales Of Dunk And Egg, and will feature the origins of Dunk, the future Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Duncan the Tall and Egg, the future King Aegon V Targaryen.
Needless to say, this has caused great excitement and expectation from those who enjoy Martin’s dramatic world-building, and with it likely to hit screens in 2025, here’s everything you need to know about A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms:
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: does it have a release date?
After announcing the start of production in January 2021, by June 2024, according to Variety, filming had started, and wrapped three months later in September.
HBO announced that it would be streaming in 2025, and in a blog post by Martin on his site, he said: “The series will make its debut late this year, I am now told. How late, I could not say. Maybe in the fall.”
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: is there a trailer yet?
There’s no official full length trailer for A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms yet, but as is customary for HBO, an end of year sizzle reel looking forward to their productions in 2025 and beyond gave a sneak peek of what to expect (skip to one minute and 32 seconds in the video above to see the brief clip).
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: has there been a cast confirmed?
Send a raven. Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell will star in the new @HBO Original Series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, as Ser Duncan the Tall and Egg. Coming to Max. pic.twitter.com/OAXVSQKLrBApril 5, 2024
It’s a solid line-up for this new adventure, which, if it goes down well with audiences, could see the series become as big as GOT. In the lead roles are Peter Claffey as Dunk / Ser Duncan the Tall, a hedge knight and Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg / Prince Aegon Targaryen, a prince of the Targaryen dynasty and Dunk's squire.
Martin added on his blog: “I’ve seen all six episodes now (the last two in rough cuts, admittedly), and I loved them. Dunk and Egg have always been favorites of mine, and the actors we found to portray them are just incredible. The rest of the cast are terrific as well. Wait until you guys meet the Laughing Storm. and Tanselle Too-Tall.”
Other recurring roles are:
- Finn Bennett as Prince Aerion "Brightflame" Targaryen, a prince of the Targaryen dynasty and Egg's older brother.
- Bertie Carvel as Prince Baelor "Breakspear" Targaryen, the heir to the Iron Throne and Hand of the King to Daeron II.
- Tanzyn Crawford as Tanselle, a Dornish puppeteer.
- Daniel Ings as Ser Lyonel Baratheon, a knight known as the "Laughing Storm" and the heir to House Baratheon.
- Sam Spruell as Prince Maekar Targaryen, Baelor's younger brother and Egg's father.
Meanwhile, other guest stars to pop up include:
- Ross Anderson as Ser Humfrey Hardyng, a knight of House Hardyng.
- Edward Ashley as Ser Steffon Fossoway, a knight of House Fossoway of Cider Hall.
- Henry Ashton as Daeron "The Drunken" Targaryen, Egg and Aerion's older brother.
- Youssef Kerkour as Steely Pate, a blacksmith hailing from the Reach.
- Daniel Monks as Ser Manfred Dondarrion, a knight of House Dondarrion of Blackhaven.
- Shaun Thomas as Raymun Fossoway, Steffon's cousin and squire.
- Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Plummer, the steward of Ashford.
- Steve Wall as Lord Leo "Longthorn" Tyrell, the Lord of Highgarden.
- Danny Webb as Ser Arlan of Pennytree, a hedge knight and Dunk's mentor.
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: what do we know about the plot?
A century before @GameofThrones, there was Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg.Executive produced by George R. R. Martin, Ira Parker, Ryan Condal, and Vince Gerardis, A Knight of the #SevenKingdoms: The Hedge Knight has received a straight to series order. #StreamOnMax pic.twitter.com/MRPUke5UptApril 12, 2023
We’ll hand back over to the big man for this one, for who else better to explain that its creator? Martin writes: “A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms is an adaptation of The Hedge Knight, the first of the novellas I wrote about them. It’s as faithful as adaptation as a reasonable man could hope for (and you all know how incredibly reasonable I am on that particular subject).”
The Hedge Knight – a knight without a master – tells the tale of how Dunk took on this mantle, and then meets his squire, a boy named Egg, on his way to compete in a tournament at Ashford Meadow, and follows the adventures they go on together afterwards.
However, it comes with a warning for blood-thirsty fans of GoT and mythical beast lovers of HotD. Martin adds: “Viewers who are looking for action, and more action, and only action… Well, this one may not satisfy you. There’s a huge fight scene here, as exciting as anyone could ask for, but there are no dragons this time around, no huge battles, no white walkers… this is a character piece, and its focus is on duty and honor, on chivalry and all it means.”
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: the future
The future looks bright for the Kingdoms, as Martin said plans are all ready going full steam ahead, although HBO are yet to confirm season 2.
“We’ll be moving on to The Sworn Sword, in the second tale of Dunk & Egg,” he blogged on his site. “ And once I finish The Winds Of Winter, I will need to get hopping on The Village Hero, and all the other tales that await the lads. Don’t worry, I am sure you folks will remind me.’ Yep, we’re ready and waiting to give him a nudge, if needs be!
For more Max TV-based coverage, read our guides on Euphoria season 3, House of the Dragon season 3, and Peacemaker season 2.
