HBO casts Dunk & Egg for A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS: THE HEDGE KNIGHT

HBO has announced that it has found the leads for its upcoming Game of Thrones spin-off series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. The show takes place about seventy years after the events of House of the Dragon and ninety years before Game of Thrones itself, and offers a more ground-level look at the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros during a time of (relative) peace.

Irish actor Peter Claffey will play the role of Ser Duncan the Tall, popularly known as Dunk. Claffey is a relative newcomer, picking up guest spots on Harry Wild and Bad Sisters before winning a lead role as Cormac Kelly on Wreck. He also had roles on Emmerdale and the film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Before that he played professional rugby for Connacht. 

Ser Duncan the Tall is a hedge knight, an honourable and dedicated warrior but who comes from poor beginnings and does not have the wealth, status and privilege that the sons of lords have. Taking up the mantle of a knight after the death of his master, Ser Duncan sets out to win renown at the great tourney of Ashford Meadow, only to inadvertently start mixing with some of the greatest figures in the realm.

At eight years old, Dexter Soll Ansell is even more of a newcomer, having also appeared in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes alongside The Midwich Cuckoos and Christmas on Mistletoe Farm.

Ansell will play Egg, a young runaway boy that Dunk meets on the road who wants to become a squire. Egg joins Dunk in his misadventures, despite Dunk's misgivings.

George R.R. Martin has written three novellas about Dunk & Egg, namely The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2002) and The Mystery Knight (2010). He has also partially written a fourth story, The She-Wolves (not the final title), and planned out a fifth, The Village Hero. The three completed stories are available in an omnibus version, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

Unlike the grand epic events of the novel series A Song of Ice and Fire (adapted to television as Game of Thrones), the Dunk & Egg stories are set in a period of (relative) peace in the Seven Kingdoms, with King Daeron II Targaryen, "The Good," repairing the damages caused by the brief civil war known as the Blackfyre Rebellion and the entry of Dorne into the realm through marriage. Dunk & Egg's adventures bring them to the notice of the powerful, who are not above using a mere hedge knight and his squire for their own ends, even in the back roads of the Seven Kingdoms. 

Ira Parker is the head writer and showrunner for the project, which was greenlit last year. George R.R. Martin will act as a producer and consultant, as will House of the Dragon head honcho Ryan Condal. The show is expected to film this summer for a 2025 debut on HBO.

Several additional Game of Thrones-related projects are in development as animated series or further live-action shows, although HBO seems to have taken its foot off the throttle regarding the number of projects in development. House of the Dragon Season 2 is currently due to debut on 16 June this year.

HBO greenlights second GAME OF THRONES spin-off show, KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS

HBO has taken the plunge on a second Game of Thrones spin-off show. Joining House of the Dragon will be A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight.

The new show will be based on George R.R. Martin's Dunk & Egg series of novellas, of which he has so far published three: The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2002) and The Mystery Knight (2009). Two more novellas are partially written or planned, The Village Hero and The She-Wolves. The first three novellas are available in an omnibus edition called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, hence the inspiration for the series title.

The novellas begin eighty-nine years before the events of Game of Thrones, during the surprisingly peaceful reign of Good King Daeron the Second. The Targaryen dragons are long gone, but the family's hold on the Iron Throne seems secure. A young, tall but poor hedge knight named Ser Duncan the Tall sets out to make his fortune at the Ashford tourney, where his paths cross with a young boy named "Egg." Duncan takes the young boy under his wing as dramatic events unfold from a very minor incident that will completely change the future history of Westeros.

George R.R. Martin has around twelve Dunk & Egg novellas planned in total, but his plan to release them between novels of the mainline series has suffered from the lengthy delays affecting the main novels. It is unclear if the TV show will adapt all of the planned-but-unwritten novellas as well as the published ones, or - if the title suggests - it will adapt The Hedge Knight by itself and then maybe focus on original adventures in the same time period. Unlike the main books, the Dunk & Egg stories are more standalone and also span a much vaster span of time, with the novellas planned to cover the period 209-259 AC (Game of Thrones begins in 298 AC; House of the Dragon will conclude in 131 AC), with years-long gaps between each one.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will be executive produced by George R.R. Martin and House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal. Ira Parker is expected to be head writer and showrunner, having previously written for The Nevers, House of the Dragon, Better Things, The Last Ship, Four in the Morning, Rogue and The Pinkertons.

HBO is also considering a spin-off movie and accompanying TV series about Aegon the Conqueror, and is working with Kit Harington on a possible Game of Thrones sequel series about Jon Snow.

GAME OF THRONES prequel series based on Dunk & Egg in development at HBO

In surprising news, Variety has learned that HBO are developing another Game of Thrones prequel series, this time based on George R.R. Martin's Dunk & Egg series of novellas. This is in addition to House of the Dragon, which is currently in pre-production and casting, and the Long Night pilot, Bloodmoon, which was shot in 2019 but HBO declined to pursue to series.

The Dunk & Egg stories begin eighty-nine years before the events of Game of Thrones (or the first Song of Ice and Fire novel, A Game of Thrones) and chart the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall, a newly-minted common or hedge knight, and his squire, "Egg," a young boy who is more than he seems. George R.R. Martin has so far written three novellas about the characters: The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2002) and The Mystery Knight (2010), with these three stories combined and released as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms in 2015. Martin had planned for around twelve stories in total spanning some fifty years, with the next two, The She-Wolves (not the final title) and The Village Hero, already sketched out and partly written, but on hold until he completes the next Song of Ice and Fire novel. He also alludes to Dunk and Egg's further adventures in his companion book, The World of Ice and Fire (2014), as well as seeding mentions of their adventures in the mainline series novels. Duncan is also mentioned several times in the Game of Thrones TV series.

The Dunk & Egg stories are extremely popular with fans and have seemed ripe for adaptation for many years. Martin has downplayed such a possibility due to his disappointment that HBO overtook him with the main TV series and did not want to repeat the process with Dunk & Egg. Martin has reiterated this many times over the years, to the point of refusing even to hear pitches about the idea. Martin's contract with HBO gives Martin veto over future Game of Thrones spin-offs that do not meet his approval (at the cost that he cannot take material set in the same world to other networks or studios).

The fact that a series is now in development indicates that Martin has changed his mind. It may be that Martin has concluded that with The Winds of Winter already nine years in the works and a further novel to follow, it will simply be far too long before he is able to focus on Dunk & Egg and the stories will not get written in a reasonable timeframe if he continues to wait. This way, he can provide outlines for each of the twelve stories and have other writers develop them into scripts, and they can reach fans much more quickly.

From HBO's point of view, there is tremendous value to the project. It is much closer to the timeframe of Game of Thrones itself and characters from the earlier series can actually appear (the notorious Walder Frey actually appears as a baby in The Mystery Knight). The stories are more straightforward, eschewing the high-budget magic and massive battles of the parent series in favour of more focused adventures on the roads of Westeros. A more episodic road-trip of a series would also contrast favourably with House of the Dragon, which is likely to be very expensive and complex in its storytelling.

The project is in very early days at HBO and HBO have not yet made a pilot or series order, and it may yet not make the grade. However, it sounds like HBO are very keen to get the ball rolling on a series. If so, we should hear more news later this year.

Meanwhile, House of the Dragon is currently knee-deep in casting. It recently added Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Emma D'Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Olivia Cooke as Lady Alicent Hightower, along with Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen. Shooting is expected to begin at the Warner Brothers Studios, Leavesden, in the next few weeks for a 2022 debut.

EDIT: James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly has added more information, confirming that a number of other Game of Thrones-related pitches are currently circulating at HBO and that the network is looking to woo back Bruno Heller, who created and ran the series Rome for them in 2005-07, to get involved. Apparently one pitch under discussion is a show based on Robert's Rebellion, the civil war that brought King Robert Baratheon to power, and is set only seventeen years before the events of Game of Thrones itself, with younger versions of characters like Ned Stark, Littlefinger, Ser Barristan Selmy and Jaime and Tywin Lannister playing key roles. George has been much more vociferous that a Rebellion-era series is unnecessary, which makes me wonder if all these reported pitches are actually pitches to George rather than having already consulted with him. If so that may cast the likelihood of a Dunk & Egg series in some doubt (although I could see George relenting on D&E long before the Rebellion).

Hibberd reports that HBO are looking at Game of Thrones as a streamer-establishing franchise for the HBO Max service, hoping to replicate the huge success of the various Star Wars and MCU shows (so far) on Disney+ and the multiple Star Trek shows on CBS All Access, and it sounds like projects are also in development.

HBO developing four separate GAME OF THRONES spin-off projects

It's been known for a while that HBO have been developing ideas for a Game of Thrones spin-off series so they can continue to make substantial amounts of money explore the rich and diverse world created by George R.R. Martin. In a bizarre twist, they have confirmed that they are developing no less than four potential spin-off projects, each from a different writer, so they can pick the one (or two) they like best, like a slightly odd reality show.

The four writers (and presumably potential showrunners) are Max Borenstein, Brian Helgeland, Jane Goldman and Carly Wray.

Borenstein is heavily involved in Legendary's new "Monsterverse", writing the scripts for Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island. He is feted in Hollywood writing circles for Jimi, an unproduced biopic about Jimi Hendrix. He is currently working on the Godzilla sequel, King of the Monsters.

Helgeland is an Academy Award-winner, noted for his work on L.A. Confidential and Mystic River. Intriguingly, his scripts include the Heath Ledger 2001 medieval musical A Knight's Tale, which bears uncanny similarities with George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire prequel The Hedge Knight (1998).

Jane Goldman is an experienced SFF screen writer, having written the scripts for Stardust, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, The Woman in Black, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and both Kingsman movies. Goldman has a high hit rate and is the only one of the four writers to be based in the UK, presumably where the spin-offs will continue to be filmed (if they require the same scenery).

Carly Wray has worked as a writer and producer on Mad Men, Constantine, The Bastard Executioner, The Leftovers, Mindhunter and Westworld. Her work on The Leftovers and Westworld gives her the most experience of having previously worked with HBO.

Borenstein and Helgeland are developing ideas independently, whilst Goldman and Wray are developing their scripts with input from George R.R. Martin. Game of Thrones producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will be attached as producers and advisors, but will not be directly involved since they are starting work on the eighth and final season of Thrones for next year and will then be developing a feature film adaptation of the novel Dirty White Boys for Fox.

HBO are apparently not set in any final decisions about the spin-off project: they may like all four ideas and commission all of them, or dislike all of them and go back to the drawing board. It's worth noting at this point that George R.R. Martin retains the rights to any other material set in Westeros, so the writers will have to also win his approval as well as HBO's to move forwards.

The most likely spin-off project is either a continuing series or series of films based on Martin's Dunk and Egg novellas (starting with The Hedge Knight). There is already material available to be adapted and the stories have a (somewhat) lighter, more self-contained narrative that will make them, in theory, easier to sell to audiences. However, only three of a potential twelve stories in the series have been written. It could be, with the main series occupying his time for the next few years (at least), Martin has found the TV option as an alternate way of getting these stories out through other writers.

HBO would likely be most interested in a prequel series based on Robert's Rebellion, featuring younger actors playing key Game of Thrones roles. Indeed, they already have Robert Aramayo and Aisling Franciosi cast as Eddard and Lyanna Stark from the main series (although a big-budget, ongoing series may feature some recasting). However, Martin has always been somewhat opposed to telling this story in detail, believing it would only be "filling in the blanks" as the key parts of the story have already been revealed in A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones themselves. HBO may attempt to persuade Martin of the merits of the project by burying his entire house and indeed city in dump trucks of money citing its artistic and thematic potential.

More daunting is the idea of doing a story based on the Dance of Dragons, using Martin's short stories The Rogue Prince and The Princess and the Queen, as well as the history outlined in The World of Ice and Fire (not to mention a much more detailed account of the conflict, which Martin has written for a future spin-off project called Fire and Blood). This would probably need to be a feature film or a trilogy, and with its focus on massive dragons and aerial combat, might be a good fit for Borenstein (whose upcoming workload is also quite full, making it less likely he would commit to a TV show for several years but could work on a movie project).

It's very early in the process, but it's quite likely that HBO would like something ready to air in late 2019 or early 2020, after Game of Thrones' final episode airs somewhere in the late summer of 2018.

A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS is released

Bantam (in the USA) and HarperCollins Voyager (in the UK) released A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms today.

This book is a collection of George R.R. Martin's three Dunk and Egg novellas, short novels spanning a period of time beginning eighty-nine years before the events of A Game of Thrones and expected to conclude approximately fifty years later. The series chronicles the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall, a hedge knight who rises from obscurity to great fame and high office, and his squire "Egg", who is more than he seems.

The collection consists of The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2002) and The Mystery Knight (2010). Martin is working on the fourth story in the series, which has the working (but not final) title of The She-Wolves of Winterfell, but he decided some time ago to rework the story. It will not be released until after The Winds of Winter comes out. A working title of the planned fifth story in the series, The Village Hero, has also been disclosed. Martin has said there may be up to a dozen of these stories in total. Existing Song of Ice and Fire characters have appeared in the Dunk and Egg books, such as a very young Walder Frey, whilst Aemon Targaryen has been mentioned, but as the novellas progress and get closer to the present other characters are likely to appear. Fan speculation is high that the final story will take place at Summerhall on the fateful night of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen's birth.

Of course, in the meantime Martin does have two rather large novels to finish.

A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS cover art

George R.R. Martin has released the cover art for the American edition of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. This is the omnibus which collects together The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight, the three novellas about Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg, set 89 years before the events of A Game of Thrones.

This is the first time the prose editions of the three stories have been collected together in one volume. This edition will be heavily illustrated by Gary Gianni and will be published on 6 October in the UK and USA. The book is already available - minus the illustrations - in some parts of Europe.

George R.R. Martin on A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS and the future of Dunk 'n' Egg

George R.R. Martin has expanded on the forthcoming omnibus re-release of his three Song of Ice and Fire novellas featuring the adventures of the hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his squire Egg.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is already available now in several countries, but Martin confirms that the UK and US releases have been delayed so they can be enhanced with artwork. Artist Gary Gianni is working on a substantial number of illustrations which will be added to The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight for their omnibus appearance. The book is still expected to appear in late 2015.

Martin also clarifies what had been informally known for some time: that HBO do not have the rights to the Dunk 'n' Egg novellas and would have to buy them in a separate deal (the same is true for The Princess and the Queen, The Rogue Prince and historical material like Robert's Rebellion). However, HBO's Game of Thrones rights do include the screen rights to all material set in Westeros, meaning that Dunk 'n' Egg can't be made anywhere else either. Martin does suggest that HBO adapting Dunk 'n' Egg is a possibility, but not for some considerable time.

GRRM confirms that the next story remains the so-called She-Wolves of Winterfell, although that won't be the final title, to be followed by The Village Hero, set back in the Riverlands. Neither of these stories will be worked on prior to him delivering The Winds of Winter, however.

George R.R. Martin update

Jet City Comics, the new comic-publishing imprint of Amazon, have picked up the reprint rights to George R.R. Martin's Dunk and Egg graphic novellas. They will be reprinting The Hedge Knight on 5 November 2013 and The Sworn Sword on 21 January 2014. Random House will also be getting the gang back together to produce a new comic book adaptation of The Mystery Knight, for publication later in 2014.

In addition, HarperCollins Voyager in the UK have announced they will be publishing a British edition of Dangerous Women in December. This book will contain a new Song of Ice and Fire novella, The Princess and the Queen, about the civil war known as the Dance of Dragons. Martin is still hoping to publish The World of Ice and Fire in Spring 2014, though officially its release date remains November 2014.

No news on the Big One, unfortunately. The last word on the book from the start of the year was that it was about a quarter done and Martin had either completed or put aside all other projects (including the fourth Dunk and Egg story) to focus on it, later remarking he was making 'rapid progress' against the threat of HBO bearing down and catching up with him. Recent casting announcements for Season 4 of Game of Thrones seem to confirm that rather more of the Feast for Crows and Dance with Dragons storylines will be featured than first thought, meaning that they will likely reach Winds of Winter material by 2016, if not the end of the 2015 season.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Amazon.de is listing a book for release next year called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, by George R.R. Martin.

This is almost certainly a new (working?) title for the first Dunk and Egg compilation volume, which will collect The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight in one book. Originally the fourth story, The She-Wolves, was also part of the compilation but GRRM confirmed to fans at the recent ConQuest convention that he is holding it back until after The Winds of Winter is completed. This indicates either that the compilation will only include those three stories, or it will also be held back until after Winds and the date has not been updated on Amazon to reflect that.

Meanwhile, She-Wolves' replacement story, The Princess and the Queen (a story set at the outbreak of the Dance of Dragons), will appear in Dangerous Women in December.

George R.R. Martin confirms 'Dunk and Egg Vol I'

George R.R. Martin has confirmed in an interview with the Chapters Indigo blog that he has signed a deal with Bantam to release a collection of his Dunk and Egg stories. This first volume will collect the first four short stories into one book, but there will be more.


The collection will include The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword, The Mystery Knight and the forthcoming fourth story, The She-Wolves (a description of the story, maybe not even a working title at this stage). The fourth story will be published in Dangerous Women, a new anthology due in 2012, so I assume the Dunk and Egg collection will follow in 2013.

The stories follow the adventure of Ser Duncan the Tall, a hedge knight of rude birth, and his very unusual squire, Egg, as they have adventures across the Seven Kingdoms approximately ninety years before the events of A Game of Thrones. Along the way they become embroiled in the doings of kings, princes and rebels, and inadvertently have a major impact on the history of Westeros.

Excellent news. These stories are pretty cool and it'll be great to have them in one volume.

The Hedge Knight by George R.R. Martin

The Hedge Knight first saw light as a 1998 prose short story, published in Robert Silverberg's Legends anthology (but now available in the Dreamsongs collection from Gollancz, specifically the second volume of the paperback editions). This is the graphic novel version, superbly illustrated throughout by Mike S. Miller, whilst Silverberg contributes a foreword and a section on heraldry at the end is provided by Elio Garcia and Linda Antonsson of the Westeros.org website. As a bonus there is also a short excerpt from the sequel, The Sworn Sword, in the second edition of the graphic novel.

The story opens 89 years before the events of A Game of Thrones. Lord Ashford has called a great tourney and noble warriors and knights from all the Seven Kingdoms have arrived to take part and display their prowess on the field. Among them is Ser Duncan the Tall, a hedge knight seeking his fortune. He finds himself joined by an irritating boy determined to become a squire, Egg, and eventually, reluctantly agrees to take him on. Dunk's plans to make his mark in the lists are dealt a serious blow when he provokes the wrath of Prince Aerion Targaryen, and the story - and the history of Westeros - is wrenched onto a different path.

The story is superb. George RR Martin is an acknowledged master of the SF&F short story and that is evident in The Hedge Knight, which is concise but so tightly and meticulously plotted it's difficult not to just gawp at it in admiration. GRRM employs his usual historical fidelity, showing the tremendous risks that young, poor knights took by fighting in tourneys (a single loss can result in total financial ruin and destitution), whilst colouring it with the pomp and pageantry of the Seven Kingdoms. Miller's artwork is excellent throughout, capturing the characters well and the landscape and heraldry in vivid detail. The detail in the story is also excellent, setting up plot points in the main novels almost undetectably. Ever wonder why the Fossoways are divided into a 'green' and 'red' branch? The answer is provided here. We also see the start of the unlikely chain of events that led to Prince Aerys (not even born at this point) taking the throne as the Mad King and thus kick the entire storyline of the novels into gear. As is often the case with GRRM, re-reading the story, particularly the very start, reveals other things going on under the surface which are very intriguing indeed, and cast the whole story in a very different light.

This is a superb story, one of George RR Martin's finest works of whatever genre and medium, and excellently presented.

The Hedge Knight (*****) is available now in the UK and USA from Marvel (Amazon.com seems to be down at the moment but I'll put in the link as soon as I can). The Sworn Sword is also available now.