The first "Game of Thrones" prequel series — that would be "House of the Dragon," of course — will soon be returning to our screens in June (here's the full episode release schedule so you don't miss a single fiery moment.) And now there's major movement on the second spinoff series, "Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight," which just cast its two most important characters.
Based on George R. R. Martin's "The Tales of Dunk and Egg" trilogy of novellas, "The Hedge Knight," will pick up about 100 years before the events of "A Song of Fire and Ice," the fantasy book series that inspired both "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon." At the center of the story, which will take place between the "HOTD" and "GOT" time periods, are two unlikely heroes wandering around Westeros: "a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg," according to the official HBO description.
Playing Ser Duncan will be Peter Claffey, who TV fans might remember from the Apple TV Plus show "Bad Sisters" and the BBC Three horror comedy "Wrecked." Joining Claffey is Dexter Sol Ansell as Aegon "Egg" Targaryen; the British child actor was most recently seen in "The Hunger Games" prequel film "The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes."
The upcoming prequel will pull from the first of Martin's three "Dunk and Egg" novellas — the author released “The Hedge Knight” in 1998, “The Sworn Sword” in 2003 and “The Mystery Knight” in 2010 — and will likely consist of six hourlong episodes, with future seasons to focus on the latter books.
"The pilot script is already written, and I think it’s terrific,” Martin shared on his blog back in April 2023. “It was written by Ira Parker, who is no stranger to Westeros. He was part of Ryan Condal’s writing staff for the first season of "House Of The Dragon," and wrote the fourth episode "King Of The Narrow Sea."
And though the title "Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight" is a bit long and meandering, Martin was emphatic that the prequel wouldn't just be known as "Dunk & Egg."
"Whether that will be the final title, I can’t say for sure… beyond saying that no, it won’t be called TALES OF DUNK & EGG or THE ADVENTURES OF DUNK & EGG or DUNK & EGG or anything along those lines. 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 wrote on his blog. "If you don’t know the characters, DUNK & EGG sounds like a sitcom. LAVERNE & SHIRLEY. ABBOTT & COSTELLO. BEAVIS & BUTTHEAD. So, no. We want 'knight' in the title. Knighthood and chivalry are central to the themes of these stories."
Tom's Guide will be sure to keep you posted on all news of the "Game of Thrones"-related projects currently in development by HBO, including "The Hedge Knight" prequel and when fans could expect to see the spinoff. In the meantime, Westeros fans can revisit both "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon" by streaming the fantasy series with a Max subscription.
