Although it looks like the Jon Snow sequel series starring Kit Harington is well and truly dead in the water at this stage, there are still a number of Game of Thrones spin-off shows in development, including A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms ("The Hedge Knight" subtitle appears to have been dropped).
Production wrapped earlier this year in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and HBO/Max has now released the first official poster featuring Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan the Tall, aka "Dunk," and Dexter Sol Ansell as his young squire, the secret Targaryen prince Aegon, aka "Egg."
The series will also star Finn Bennett (True Detective: Night Country) as Aerion Targaryen, Bertie Carvel (The Crown) as Baelor Targaryen, Tanzyn Crawford (Tiny Beautiful Things) as Tanselle, Daniel Ings (The Gentlemen) as Ser Lyonel Baratheon, and Sam Spruell (Fargo) as Maekar Targaryen.
This show will be much smaller in scale than both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, and will even ditch the ironic opening sequence.
"All decisions came down to Dunk, trying to channel the type of person he is into every aspect of this show, even the title sequence," co-creator Ira Parker tells Entertainment Weekly. “The title sequences on the original [Game of Thrones] and House of Dragon are big and epic and incredible. Ramin Djawadi’s score is orchestral and large and beautiful. That's not really Dunk’s M.O. He’s plain and he’s simple and he’s to-the-point. He doesn't have a lot of flash to him.”
Check out the poster at the link below.
Based on George R.R. Martin's Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, the story takes place over 90 years before the events of Game of Thrones and focuses on the adventures of "Dunk," a.k.a. the future Lord Commander of the Kingsguard Ser Duncan the Tall, and "Egg," the future King Aegon V Targaryen.
"Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends," the official series description reads.
Claffey, an Irish actor and former Connacht Rugby player, made his stage debut at Dublin's Abbey Theatre in A Whistle in the Dark by Tom Murphy. He went on to appear in 2022's Bad Sisters and Wreck, and has a role lined up opposite Cillian Murphy in Small Things Like These. 9-year-old Ansell began his acting career at the age of 4 on ITV's Emmerdale, and his other credits include Sky's thriller series The Midwich Cuckoos, and Netflix's comedy film Christmas on Mistletoe Farm. He will also appear in The Moor, Channel 4's Hullraisers, and Robin and The Hood.
Martin has previously confirmed that season 1 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight will adapt the first of his three novellas, 1998's The Hedge Knight, with plans to focus on 2003's The Sworn Sword and 2010's The Mystery Knight in future seasons if the show continues.
Currently, The Batman co-writer Mattson Tomlin is working on an adaptation of Aegon’s Conquest, which charts the Targaryen’s bloody and brutal conquest of Westeros prior to the events of House of the Dragon. The story follows the invading Aegon Targaryen and his sister wives, Rhaenys and Visenya, who conquered Westeros with their mighty dragons. The trio successfully unified six of the Seven Kingdoms in just two years, with only Dorne managing to resist.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres next January. House of the Dragon will soon return for its third and penultimate season.