What we know about the ‘Game of Thrones’ spin-off right now
Our first look image from “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight”. (Image credit: Steffan Hill/HBO)
Westeros is going nowhere fast. “House of the Dragon” season 2 might be over, but “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight”, the second of the (many) “Game of Thrones” spinoffs to get off the ground, is poised to bring us another story from George R.R. Martin’s rich fantasy world in 2025.
Penned by George R.R. Martin and Ira Parker, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight” will introduce us to two beloved characters from a series of Martin’s novellas: Dunk, the nomadic knight, and his squire, Egg.
Variety first revealed that A Dunk and Egg adaptation was in the works back in 2021. Two years later, we learned that the show — which is set roughly a century before everything that happened in the original HBO saga — had gotten a straight-to-series order at Max.
Below you’ll find everything we know about “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight” right now, including every confirmed star, a short synopsis of what’s to come, and the very first footage that just came our way as part of a huge Max sizzle reel.
Latest news about ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’
We recently got a progress update about the series from star, Dexter Sol Ansell; filming on “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms'” has come to an end.
“After a few wonderful months of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”, it’s finally over. Bye-bye, Belfast. See you soon. It’s a wrap!” Ansell said in a video he shared on Instagram where he holds a framed drawing of Dunk and Egg.
‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ release date
At the time of writing, Max has not confirmed the “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” release date; currently, we only know that the series will premiere in 2025.
HBO confirmed that the new series started filming in Belfast on June 18, 2024, meaning it’ll be a while before we lay eyes on the show, judging by past “Thrones” show production cycles. For example, “House of the Dragon” season 2 entered production on April 11, 2023, and didn’t start airing until June 16, 2024.
In the meantime, be sure to check out our round-up of the best Max shows to find more stuff to stream while we wait for “The Hedge Knight” to arrive.
‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ plot: What’s the new spin-off about?
HBO’s logline for the series reads: “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”.
It’s widely reported that this first season of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” draws from “The Hedge Knight”, the first Dunk & Egg novella, meaning we at least have a rough idea of what we might see very soon. Spoiler warning here; we’re going to outline what happens in that first book
“The Hedge Knight”, unsurprisingly, tells the story of how Dunk, a poor boy from Flea Bottom became a hedge knight (a wandering knight with no master). In the story, the hedge knight whom Dunk has been a squire to for many years passes away. On his deathbed, Ser Arlan of Pennytree supposedly knights Dunk.
After weighing up his options, Dunk decides to continue to the town of Ashford, in the Reach (picking up Egg en route), where he wishes to participate in a tourney. We won’t spoil exactly what happens in Ashford, but we’d note that the tale sees them crossing paths with several members of the Targaryen dynasty.
Who’s in the “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” cast?
The main stars of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight” were named in April 2024.
Dunk will be portrayed by Peter Claffey, who you might know from the Apple TV Plus original, “Bad Sisters”. Joining him as his squire, Egg, is Dexter Sol Ansell, who was recently seen in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes”.
When production began, we learned the identity of plenty more stars, and who they will play in “The Hedge Knight”. Below, you can find the current cast list, as of the latest announcements.
Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan the Tall
Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg
Finn Bennett (“True Detective: Night Country”) as Aerion Targaryen
Bertie Carvel (“Dalgliesh”) as Baelor Targaryen
Tanzyn Crawford (“Tiny Beautiful Things”) as Tanselle
Daniel Ings (“The Gentlemen”) as Ser Lyonel Baratheon
Sam Spruell (“Fargo”) as Maekar Targaryen
Is there a ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight’ trailer?
As part of a big Max sizzle reel released ahead of the “House of the Dragon” season 2 finale, we saw our first footage from “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”.
If you skip ahead to 1:10, you’ll get to see Ser Duncan the Tall sign up for his tourney, a brief display of expert swordsmanship from Egg, and Duncan absolutely clobbering someone. Check it out below.
Coming to Max in 2024-2025 | The Penguin, The White Lotus, The Last of Us and More – YouTube
How is ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight’ shaping up so far?
Given we’re still in early development, it’s difficult to have an opinion on “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” just yet. But if we look at fan discussions and reviews of the three Dunk and Egg tales George R.R. Martin’s written thus far, it sounds like we could be getting another must-see fantasy series soon enough.
Fans of Martin’s definitely work hold the Dunk and Egg tales in high regard. They’re recommended for being shorter, lighter, and a little breezier in tone than some of his other stories.
Given what I’ve seen so far, and who’s part of the cast, I’m hopeful that this first installment, “The Hedge Knight” will make for a fun, smaller-scope addition to HBO’s version of the Seven Kingdoms. It also should mean that the gaps between “House of the Dragon” seasons might not feel quite as big, either.
