What is “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” about? A beginner's guide to next “Game of Thrones” spinoff

Familiarize yourself with the new figures and setting of the next spinoff — without major book spoilers.

In the season 4 premiere of HBO's Game of Thrones, King Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) flips through the pages of the Book of Brothers, a log of all the great knights of the Kingsguard. He arrives at the entry for Ser Duncan the Tall and remarks, "Four pages for Ser Duncan! He must've been quite a man."

"So they say," Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's Ser Jaime Lannister remarks.

Brandon Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) also knew of Ser Duncan the Tall. While confined to his bed in the third episode of season 1, he was in no mood to hear heroic stories, like the ones about this particular brave and valiant knight. But now we are getting those tales.

Before the ash settles on House of the Dragon, the next Thrones spinoff series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, will begin the adventures of the man once known as Dunk. Filming began in June 2024 and wrapped that September, with plans to introduce television audiences to a different time period in the world of Westeros through the eyes of an unlikely pair, Dunk and Egg. It's a tale not told in either A Song of Ice and Fire, the main book series by George R.R. Martin that inspired HBO's Game of Thrones, or Fire and Blood, the author's vast compendium of the history of the Targaryen dynasty that inspired the events of House of the Dragon.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is based on another offshoot of Martin's literary franchise, and even though the concept isn't as flashy as a dragon-on-dragon civil war for the Iron Throne, it still comes with compelling characters and a lot of heart. If you're unfamiliar with this particular concept but want the general gist, here's a beginner's guide to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

What is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms based on?

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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is based on the Tales of Dunk and Egg, a run of novellas that Martin set within the world of his main book series A Song of Ice and Fire. The first, titled "The Hedge Knight," was published in 1998, followed by "The Sworn Sword" in 2003 and "The Mystery Knight" in 2010. The stories follow the adventures of the hedge knight Ser Duncan "Dunk" the Tall and his small squire of unique origins, Egg.

All three novellas were compiled and published as one book, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, in 2015. Writer Ben Avery and artist Mike S. Miller also adapted each story first into their own multi-issue comic book run, which were then compiled and released as three separate graphic novels.

When does A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms take place?

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In the historical record of Westeros, the events of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms take place a century before HBO's Game of Thrones (about 90 years prior), but several decades after the events of the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war that's currently playing out on House of the Dragon. We know that the events of the Dance of the Dragons will decimate the population of dragons, so this new story will be set during a time when virtually all winged fire-breathers have vanished from the world.

We're still far out from Robert's Rebellion, the conflict that overthrew "the Mad King" Aerys II Targaryen and placed Robert Baratheon on the Iron Throne, so A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is still set in the age of Targaryen rulers. The story begins in the time of King Daeron II Targaryen, known to his people as Daeron the Good or Good King Daeron. He's notable in history for bringing Dorne into the realm's fold and uniting all seven kingdoms south of the Wall, on top of beating his bastard half-brother Daemon I Blackfyre in a civil war for the throne.

What is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms about?

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Season 1 adapts the events of "The Hedge Knight" and will consist of six episodes, while subsequent seasons will presumably adapt the other novellas.

The towering figure known as Dunk lived the life of a street urchin in the slums of Flea Bottom in King's Landing, but he grew to squire for a hedge knight (a nomadic knight who doesn't serve a lord) by the name of Ser Arlan of Pennytree. The novella itself begins with Ser Arlan already dead, having passed in the night. After giving him a proper burial, Dunk takes on his master's armor and declares himself Ser Duncan the Tall, even though he wasn't technically knighted.

What follows is very much A Knight's Tale as told within the fabric of Game of Thrones.... In an attempt to earn some money, Ser Duncan decides to enter the Tourney of Ashford Meadow, which was thrown by Lord Ashford in honor of the thirteenth name day of his daughter. This event becomes one of the most famous tourneys in history due to certain events that transpire. (No spoilers!) On his way to enter the impending games, Ser Duncan stumbles across a young boy with a shaved head along the road. The kid goes by the name of Egg and he secretly follows Ser Duncan to Ashford, where he impresses enough to become his squire.

Related: House of the Dragon co-creator explains A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms involvement

"The Sworn Sword" and "The Mystery Knight" tell of two separate Dunk and Egg adventures with unique situations and casts of characters.

Ryan Condal, the co-creator behind House of the Dragon who executive produces A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, describes the saga as "a lone wolf and cub story told in this vast canvas." He tells Entertainment Weekly how Martin's Dunk and Egg novellas "always stuck with me as such a wonderful counterpoint to George's world, which was really about the upper crust of the 1 percent: the kings and the high lords and ladies who essentially waged the game of thrones at the expense of the small folk. Well, Dunk and Egg is about the small folk who suffer at the hands of the game of thrones as it's played by the nobles."

Who are the main players in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?

Peter Claffey, a former professional rugby player and actor from British horror-comedy Wreck, stars as Dunk/Ser Duncan the Tall, alongside The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes actor Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg.

Danny Webb plays Ser Arlan of Pennytree, which likely means we'll see flashbacks to Ser Duncan squiring for the late hedge knight. It's the memory of Ser Arlan's actions and the lessons he imparted that stick with Ser Duncan on his many adventures.

At the tourney itself, Dunk and Egg encounter various figures, including royals who are there to enjoy the sport, the competing knights themselves, and members of the small folk. Tanzyn Crawford plays Tanselle "Too-Tall," a Dornish puppeteer who draws the eye of Dunk; and Youssef Kerkour plays Steely Pate, a blacksmith working the tourney.

Related: Game of Thrones spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms finds its own Daeron Targaryen

As for the royals, there's Prince Baelor Targaryen (Bertie Carvel), a.k.a. Baelor Breakspear. Baelor is the heir to the Iron Throne and the Prince of Dragonstone who serves as Hand to his father, King Daeron II. Baelor has two sons, Prince Valarr and Prince Matarys, as well as three brothers: Aerys, the clever; Rhaegel, the gentle; and Maekar.

Prince Maekar is more central to the events of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms with Baelor. Played by Sam Spruell, the prince is the fourth-born son of King Daeron and not expected to inherit the throne. He is the father of Prince Daeron (Henry Ashton), a drunkard; Prince Aerion "Brightflame" (Finn Bennett), one of the more cruel Targaryens; and his youngest, Prince Aegon.

Daniel Ings plays Ser Lyonel Baratheon, the current Lord of Storm's End and head of House Baratheon. Dubbed the "Laughing Storm," Ser Lyonel is one of the many competitors in the tourney, as is Ser Steffon Fossoway (Edward Ashley), who is squired by his cousin, Raymun Fossoway (Shaun Thomas).

Related: Here are all the Game of Thrones spinoffs in the works

Ser Manfred Dondarrion (Daniel Monks), a knight of House Dondarrion, also attends the tourney, while Plummer (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor), the stewart of Ashford, serves as the tourney's master of the games. Dunk must go through Plummer to sign up for the events.

There are a few other figures involved in the season 1 story for which HBO has not yet announced casting, such as other tourney knights Ser Humfrey Hardyng, Ser Humfrey Beesbury, and Ser Robyn Rhysling.

Who's involved behind the scenes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?

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Martin himself is credited as writer, co-creator, and executive producer on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms with Ira Parker, a writer from House of the Dragon. Previously, he's credited as co-creator and executive producer on House of the Dragon with showrunner Ryan Condal.

Condal is also aboard as an executive producer, having originally pitched HBO on a Dunk and Egg series adaptation before working on House of the Dragon. Vince Gerardis, Owen Harris, and Sarah Bradshaw are also EPs.

Harris (Mrs. Davis, Black Mirror, The Twilight Zone) directs three of the six episodes, while Sarah Adina Smith (Lessons In Chemistry, Hanna, Buster’s Mal Heart) directs the other three.

When does A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiere?

A premiere date has not been announced, but the series will kick off sometime in 2025. The current plan is to have one season of a Game of Thrones show debut every year between A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and House of the Dragon, the latter of which has two more seasons to go.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.