Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms
Credit: HBO
“A hedge knight is the truest kind of knight, Dunk,” the old man had told him, a long-long time ago. “Other knights serve the lords who keep them, or from whom they hold their lands, but we serve where we will, for men whose causes we believe in. Every knight swears to protect the weak and innocent, but we keep the vow best, I think.”
~ from The Hedge Knight by George R.R. Martin
The next entry in the Game Of Thrones extended universe is just around the proverbial riverbend. A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms is headed to HBO in January, 2026 the company revealed. “This Winter, Spring is Coming,” the official Game Of Thrones account tweeted, along with this new poster:
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms
Credit: HBO
“A Tall Tale That Became Legend” the poster reads. This is a reference both to the nature of the story, which is your classic knight-errant tale, and to the height of one of its two chief protagonists, Duncan the Tall, aka Dunk.
Dunk is played by Peter Claffey. His squire, the boy known as Egg, is played by Dexter Sol Ansell. Stranger Things star Finn Bennett, who plays Vecna in that show, has been cast as Prince Aerion “Brightflame” Targaryen. Tanzyn Crawford has been cast as Dornish puppeteer, Tanselle “Too-Tall”. Henry Ashton, who played Lord Stan Dudley in Amazon’s My Lady Jane, has been cast as Daeron Targaryen.
George R.R. Martin, whose Dunk & Egg novellas form the basis for A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms, was a fan of My Lady Jane and was saddened by its cancellation, writing on his blog:
Speaking of television shows, I have always loved alternate history and Jane Grey, England’s nine-days queen, has always fascinated me. Small wonder, then, that I really enjoyed MY LADY JANE, a clever and original historical fantasy on Amazon Prime, set in an England full of witches and shapechangers, where Jane lasts more than nine days. Meredith Glynn is one of the showrunners. I had the pleasure of working with her on one of the GAME OF THRONES spinoffs that HBO shelved a few years back, and knowing her talents, it did not surprise me that MY LADY JANE was so much fun. Witty and original, it reminded me a bit of THE GREAT, a show I loved. Alas, THE GREAT is gone, and it appears MY LADY JANE is too. Amazon did not renew it for a second season.
“Jane deserved more than nine days, or eight episodes,” he added.
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms will consist of just 6 episodes in its first season, fewer than Game Of Thrones or House Of The Dragon. Then again, this is a series based on much, much shorter books.
I love the Dunk & Egg novellas because they are, in many ways, exactly the kind of stories Martin was born to write. Set 90 years before the events of the main show and books, they dispense entirely with epic fantasy. Martin focuses on the adventures of Ser Duncan and his squire. We get jousts and tourneys rather than dragons and court intrigue (though there is some of that in the periphery of the story). No magic, no prophecy (and hopefully the show’s creators don’t shoehorn that in) just a Medieval adventure story.
After the disappointment around the last two seasons of Game Of Thrones and the second season of House of the Dragon, not to mention The Winds Of Winter’s endless delays, I’m probably unreasonably excited for this show. But I am. The casting is excellent. The fact that Martin, who rather famously wrote about his own disappointment with House of the Dragon, is really excited about this show is also good news as well.
“I’ve seen all six episodes now (the last two in rough cuts, admittedly), and I loved them,” Martin posted earlier this year. “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.”
We won’t have to wait very long.
