Thanks to the relative success of the first Game of Thrones spinoff, House of the Dragon, HBO has been eager to dip back into the world of Westeros once more and continue to reclaim the lost goodwill from the controversial main series’ conclusion. It seems that double dip will have to wait, however.
During Warner Brothers Discovery’s latest upfront presentation at Madison Square Garden, a first look of the new show, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, was shown to advertisers, ending with a tentative soft release date of simply “2026.” No release date had been officially offered before this, but WBD execs had been on record stating that the series would air by the end of 2025.
HBO CEO Casey Bloys did note, though, that they were looking at a “winter” release when presenting the trailer, which would imply an early 2026 release, so perhaps we won’t be waiting all that much longer than expected.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms adapts George R.R. Martin’s trio of novellas released under the same name, showing the journeys of Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg. The pair, collectively known as “Dunk and Egg,” will go on to reach great heights in the Song of Ice and Fire universe, but this series, set a great many years both before Game of Thrones and after House of the Dragon, will tell the tales of their early adventures wandering the kingdoms.
Peter Claffley will play Dunk with Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg, but A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms also features an extended cast including Daniel Ings as Ser Lyonel Baratheon, Finn Bennett as Aerion Targaryen, Sam Spruell as Maekar Targaryen, Tanzyn Crawford as Tanselle, and Bertie Carvel as Baelor Targaryen. Sarah Adina Smith and Owen Harris are set to direct the first and second half of the six-episode series, respectively.
Check out the official logline while you’re here: “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.”
