HBO is continuing its expansion of the Game of Thrones universe with the green light for a new prequel limited series titled A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, based on George R.R. Martin’s series of novellas.
The series will follow the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg, who will eventually be revealed as the future King Aegon V Targaryen. It is set approximately 72 years after the events of the current hit prequel House of the Dragon, and roughly a century before the original Game of Thrones storyline.
“The Hedge Knight will be a lot shorter than Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon, with a much different tone…but it’s still Westeros, so no one is truly safe,” Martin teased about the new show on his blog. “Ira Parker and his team are doing a great job.”
The prequel aims to lay the groundwork for the famed A Song of Ice and Fire saga that was first adapted into Game of Thrones. If successful, HBO plans to follow it up with adaptations of the other Dunk and Egg novellas The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight.
While separate from the mainGame of Thrones timeline, the new prequel links back to a pivotal investigation that first put the Lannister-Baratheon children’s parentage into question. The original series famously hinged on Eddard “Ned” Stark’s realization that Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella were not King Robert’s trueborn children, but rather the product of an incestuous relationship between Queen Cersei and her twin brother, Ser Jaime Lannister.
Stark’s findings, which initially seemed based on flimsy evidence given the unpredictable nature of genetic inheritance, were eventually vindicated in the series. His honorable pursuit of justice in this matter set off a tragic chain of events that spiraled into the War of the Five Kings.
“No matter how far back Ned searched in the yellowed pages, always he found the gold yielding before the coal,” Martin wrote in the books about how true Baratheon-Lannister children always inherited their father’s trademark raven locks versus their mother’s golden hair.
While the original Game of Thronesbooks are still incomplete, Martin has suggested he hopes to finish more Dunk and Egg stories after releasing the long-awaited sixth novel The Winds of Winter.
The new prequel provides HBO an opportunity to keep expanding their enormously successfully Game of Thrones franchise while appeasing impatient fans still clamoring for the final two books. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms could offer new insights into the historic events and dynamics that shaped Westeros leading up to the original series.
No release date has been set yet for the new limited series, which will star Peter Calffey as Dunk and Dexter Sol Ansell as the young Aegon V. But HBO is expected to leverage the prequel as another entry point for viewers to journey through different eras of Martin’s iconic fantasy world.
