As fans eagerly anticipate the premiere of the next HBO show based on George R.R. Martin's world of Westeros, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the creative team behind the series is already hard at work bringing the likes of Dunk and Egg to life once again. According to film industry source The Knowledge, Season 2 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has officially begun shooting. The cast and crew have returned to Belfast, where they shot the first season, to begin work on season 2 as of December 8. This corroborates a previous report from Variety, which stated that the show was set to begin production this week.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will adapt Martin's The Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, with season 1 set to tell the story of the duo's first adventure, "The Hedge Knight." Presumably, season 2 will focus on Martin's second novella, "The Sworn Sword."
Both series leads, Peter Claffey, who plays Ser Duncan the Tall, aka Dunk, the titular hedge knight, and Dexter Sol Ansell, the actor for Dunk's young squire, a boy simply known as "Egg," are set to return for the show's second season. Ira Parker, the showrunner for season 1, will work on season 2 as well.
A quick turnaround for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2
Perhaps the most exciting element of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms filming its second season so soon is that HBO aims to air season 2 in 2027, a little over a year after season 1. This release schedule more closely resembles that of Game of Thrones, which rolled out a new season just about every year from 2011 until its conclusion in 2019, than House of the Dragon, which aired its second season two years after its first and is set to debut its upcoming third season two years after season 2.
Presumably, a large part of why A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is shooting season 2 before season 1 has even released is due to Dexter Sol Ansell's age. In Martin's novellas, Egg is portrayed as a young boy, with the TV adaptation's initial casting call describing the character as "aged 9-10." In order to stay true to Egg's youth, Sol Ansell, who's currently eleven years old himself, should probably still look the part for future seasons. In contrast, House of the Dragon phased out most of its younger cast members after the first season, and the younger characters from Game of Thrones, which ran for a lengthy eight seasons, ended the series as full grown adults.
The quick turnaround for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms could also be due to its relatively smaller scale than the other Westeros set HBO shows. While Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon focus on sprawling casts of noble characters and feature huge battles filled with CGI creatures such as White Walkers, Direwolves, and, of course, Dragons, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will maintain its focus on its two protagonists, Dunk and Egg, with most of its battle sequences being jousting tournaments instead of clashes between full blown armies. In fact, by the time of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which takes place in between House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, all of the Targaryens' dragons have died out, making it nearly impossible for the show to feature any of the iconic beasts. The lack of dragons and armies might make production a little simpler for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, helping the creative team return to set as fast as possible.
Regardless of the reasoning, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms releasing two seasons in as many years will prove to be a major strength of the show. Many modern TV series take much longer between seasons than in the past, which has audiences frustrated. A large part of Game of Thrones' success is how quickly it established itself as part of the cultural zeitgeist, and airing new episodes on a near annual basis helped audiences latch on to its characters, story, world, and themes, solidifying each as iconic.
As such, the relatively quick release schedule for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms sets the new series up for success. Fans of the first season won't have to clamor for more episodes for long, as the next season is set to release in practically no time compared to most popular shows of the day, and will remember the details of season 1 much more clearly than if the show had taken longer between seasons. If the show keeps up a relatively fast-paced release schedule, then Dunk and Egg are likely to become cultural icons in no time.
Make sure to catch the series premiere of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms on HBO Max on January 18, 2026.