HBO’s recently greenlit Game of Thrones spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, will adapt the first of author George R.R. Martin’s Dunk and Egg novellas over the course of six episodes. At least, that’s the plan.
In a new blog post, Martin says HBO has given the greenlight for a full season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and that it will “most likely” consist of six episodes, though “that is not set in stone, and won’t be until considerably later in the process.”
Martin does offer a few other details about the spin-off. For starters, the show’s name is not final and is a working title. However, Martin confirms that though the novella series from which the show is based is often referred to as “The Adventures of Dunk & Egg” by fans, the name of the two main characters won’t appear in the show’s official title.
“I love Dunk and I love Egg, and I know that fans refer to my novellas as ‘the Dunk & Egg stories,’ sure, but there are millions of people out there who do not know the stories and the title needs to intrigue them too,” Martin writes.
He goes on to state that the word “knight” will likely be in the title in some form, as “knighthood and chivalry are central to the themes of these stories.” The goal for the show is to be a faithful adaptation of the novella, as unlike Fire & Blood–upon which House of the Dragon is based–the Hedge Knight is a fully fleshed out story that doesn’t require the show’s creators to fill in the gaps. The script for the pilot episode, written by a member of House of the Dragon’s writing team Ira Parker, is already complete and “terrific,” according to Martin. The show does not have a date for when it will premiere or even a date for when it will start shooting, as the scripts for the remainder of the season are still in the works.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight takes place centuries before the events of Game of Thrones, and chronicles the adventures of the wandering Hedge Knight Ser Duncan and his squire Egg.
Martin confirms that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is far from the last Game of Thrones spin-off in the works. Shows about Nymeria and her 10,000 ships, as well as House of the Dragon’s Sea Snake, are both still in early stages of development. Martin confirmed that there are other projects too, including some that are animated, with Martin himself having previously confirmed a Jon Snow spin-off was in the works. Martin’s Dunk & Egg stories were the second of two proposed spin-offs the author suggested to HBO (the other being House of the Dragon) back in 2016, and it’s taken seven years for it to come to fruition.
“How many will get the greenlight like Dunk & Egg?” Martin writes. “Impossible to say. How long will it take? It depends. No one knows for sure.”
When A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight does arrive, it will likely do so on Max, HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery’s new streaming service that includes content from HBO and Discovery+.
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