HBO is in production on a new spin-off of the show “Game of Thrones,” based on the “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels by George R.R. Martin. Martin recently posted about a visit to the set. He “can’t wait to see more” of the currently untitled series. Along with some really cool behind-the-scenes photos of his trip.
The author says the network is still deciding between the names “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” or “The Hedge Knight.” Some sources are even merging the two and calling it “A Knight of the Seven Kingdom: The Hedge Knight.” Which just seems like an unnecessary mouthful.
The Book
No matter what it’s called, the new series will be based on Martin’s “Dunk and Egg” stories. This series consists of three stories: “The Hedge Knight,” “The Sworn Sword,” and “The Mystery Knight.” All set roughly ninety years before the book “A Song of Fire & Ice,” during the reign of King Daeron II.
“You may find the tone quite different from that of GAME OF THRONES or HOUSE OF THE DRAGON; smaller in scale, more personal, with more humor, more focus on character… but there is danger and death as well, “ Martin writes on his not-a- blog. “Lords and ladies and princes it has, but they share the stage with more smallfolk this time around.”
The Show
Typically when a beloved book is being adapted there is concern over the author’s work being watered down or distorted. However, Martin had nothing but praise for what he saw on set.
“KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS is a smaller show than either GAME OF THRONES or HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, with a much smaller budget, but I really want it to be great,” Martin explains. “Ninety percent of the story is set in a field, surrounded by tents, we would not need the huge sets the other shows had featured, but it couldn’t look fake or cheap either, and the costumes and the heraldry and the fights all had to be splendid, and…I was so so happy when I got there, and saw what Ira and his team had built.” (Referring to showrunner Ira Parker.)
While his three-day visit to the set was rainy, everyone seemed in good spirits. “Dunk and Egg – Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell, respectively – looked as if they just walked out of the pages of my book, and the chemistry between them was just perfect,” Martin writes.
“A few weeks after I got back home, I saw a rough cut of the first episode,” he concludes. “I loved it. I can’t wait to see more.”
The new show is expected to debut in 2025 with Martin hoping for a Spring debut. You can catch both “Game of Thrones” and “House of the Dragon” streaming on MAX.
