Everything We Know About DUNK AND EGG Series A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS

Westeros isn’t getting any bigger, but its presence on HBO certainly is thanks to a very large and legendary knight. A second live-action Game of Thrones spinoff is coming about the Realm’s most beloved duo, Dunk and Egg. What’s the show called? Who is this famous knight and his young Targaryen squire? And why are fans of George R.R. Martin so excited to see them come to life?

Recently, we learned that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is releasing on HBO Max in January. When asked by Variety when A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms would release, Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO and HBO Max Content, replied “I’m going to say January. How about that?”

Here’s everything we know about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms so far.

TitleMike S. Miller/Image Comics

At one point the spinoff was working under the wordy title of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. But a recent report says HBO has—thankfully—dropped the latter. The prequel is now operating under the simpler name and the book it’s adapting, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ Plot Mike S. Miller/Jet City Comics

The show’s official logline provided an introduction to the series’ time period and characters. From HBO:

A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.

Fans of A Song of Ice and Fire know much more about the beloved duo’s exploits and lifelong friendship. Martin’s three novellas cover both big and small events related to Westeros during a dangerous time in the Seven Kingdoms. Dunk and Egg began their time together shortly after the second Targaryen civil war known as the Blackfyre Rebellion. The fresh wounds of that Realm-splitting battle is why Egg needed to hide his real identity while serving as Duncan’s squire.

Random House

Martin has also previously confirmed a fan theory that the honorable, noble Ser Duncan the Tall is the ancestor of Brienne of Tarth. (Though we don’t yet know how.) Despite taking place a century before its HBO predecessor, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will also have more direct ties to Game of Thrones. Brynden Rivers, Egg’s uncle and the most notorious figure in Westeros, would go on to become the Three-Eyed Raven. And Egg’s older brother is none other than Maester Aemon of the Night’s Watch.

Martin has long said he has plans for many more Dunk & Egg stories. The show could ultimately adapt those unwritten/unpublished tales into entire seasons. HBO’s head of drama Francesca Orsi has said the series will “ideally year-to-year and arcing out a three-season series, which maps out the three novellas that George wrote.” But that doesn’t mean it will only run three years. She also said, “Of course, we’d like more beyond that, and George is continuing to think about the remaining novellas that he still wants to write, but at this point, we have our eye on three seasons that would map out each book, each novella.”

The adult exploits of Dunk and Egg are also explored in Martin’s massive compendium book The World of Ice and Fire. (Spoilers!)

🔆Novo vislumbre de ''A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS'', novo spinoff de ''Game of Thrones''.

✨Estreia em 2025 na Max.#aknightofthesevenkingdoms #GameOfThrones #ThePenguin #TVseries #HBOหาร #HBO #MAX #Hotdpic.twitter.com/ico1tWXuia

— Portal Warner Bros. Brasil (@PortalWarnerBR) November 11, 2024

In case you missed the first footage from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms in August, Max has shared it again in a recent trailer for their 2025 slate. While A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will no longer releas in 2025, you can catch the look at the Dunk and Egg show above. The original footage from August 2024 is slightly longer.

Behind the ScenesCBS

Martin and Ira Parker will write and serve as executive producers the show. House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal will also serve as as executive producer along with Vince Gerardis. Owen Harris (Black Mirror‘s “Be Right Back” and “San Junipero”) will direct the show’s first three episodes. Sarah Adina Smith (Lessons In Chemistry) has also come aboard to direct three of the season’s six episodes.

Production began in the spring of 2024 following the end of the writers and actors strikes.

Additionally, Martin wrote The Hedge Knight will be shorter than the other Game of Thrones series on HBO, however, it will be no less brutal, to be sure. Success for The Hedge Knight could mean other Dunk & Egg stories receive spinoffs. (And maybe Martin will even write a few more.)

Here’s what Martin shared in full.

THE HEDGE KNIGHT will be a lot shorter than GAME OF THRONES or HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, with a much different tone… but it’s still Westeros, so no one is truly safe  Ira Parker and his team are doing a great job.  I hope to visit the shoot come July, when I swing by Belfast on my way to the worldcon in Glasgow.    The show will make its debut next year… and if it does well, THE SWORN SWORD and THE MYSTERY KNIGHT will follow.  By which time I hope to have finished some more Dunk & Egg stories (yes, after I finish THE WINDS OF WINTER).

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms ‘ CastHBO

The 6’4″ tall Peter Claffey (Bad Sisters, Vikings: Valhalla) will play the legendary Ser Duncan the Tall. Young Dexter Sol Ansell (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) will serve as Dunk’s diminutive squire, the fiery secret Targaryen prince Aegon forever known as “Egg.”

Martin publicly praised Dexter Sol Ansell’s transformation into Egg.

Dexter Sol Ansell (Egg) getting his head shaved ahead of Dunk and Egg filming!
byu/shad0wqueenxx inHouseOfTheDragon

Steffan Hill/HBO

Ser Duncan is officially here. HBO has shared the first official image from the production in Belfast and it features the “lunk” known as Dunk walking through a market. His raggedy clothes suggest this moment comes from his pre-Egg days. (Not that he’ll look that much better later. Hedge knights aren’t exactly the best dressed knights.)

The network also announced some major new cast members and their roles along with the photo’s release:

Finn Bennett as Aerion TargaryenBertie Carvel as Baelor TargaryenTanzyn Crawford as TanselleDaniel Ings as Ser Lyonel BarotheonSam Spruell as Maekar Targaryen

Additionally, the following cast members and characters have come aboard the Game of Thrones series: Edward Ashley as Ser Steffon Fossoway, Henry Ashton as Daeron Targaryen, Youssef Kerkour as Steely Pate, Daniel Monks as Ser Manfred Dondarrion, Shaun Thomas as Raymun Fossoway, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Plummer, and Danny Webb as Ser Arlan of Pennytree. 

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms ‘ Release Date[image error]Jet City Comics/Mike S Miller

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will release in January 2026.

Originally published May 22, 2024.

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