Good news: HBO is adapting George R.R. Martin's Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas as a new show called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Set around 100 years before the events of Game of Thrones, it tells the story of a very tall knight named Ser Duncan the Tall and his diminutive, sassy squire Egg. There are no dragons or huge wars, just two people exploring the Seven Kingdoms having adventures. It's lighter in tone and smaller in scale than what fans are used to, and everything we've heard about it is very positive.
Bad news: while A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was originally going to air on HBO and HBO Max this year, it recently got delayed into early 2026. We've still seen precious little of it, but the actors involved only have good things to say. That includes English actor Finn Bennett, who made an impression in True Detective: Night Country before hopping over to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms to play Aerion "Brightflame" Targaryen, a particularly hot-headed and unstable member of Westeros' ruling dynasty.
Variety caught up with Bennett at the Cannes Film Festival recently and asked how he was adjusting to wearing Targaryen blonde. "I think it looks great! Shoutout to Pip Woods, who did my wig every morning," he said. "And I really really loved [the series]. I think it's gonna be a great show. I'm so proud of everybody involved in it. I think Pete did a really good job; he led us through that, and I'm so excited for the world to see it."
"Pete" would be Peter Claffey, who plays Dunk. Egg is played by child actor Dexter Sol Ansell.
HBO still hasn't released a proper trailer for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, but they do have one ready. Members of the media got to see it at WBD's Upfronts event last week, and The Mirror has a brief description. The trailer depicts the first meeting between Dunk and Egg as described in Martin's novella The Hedge Knight, where Egg wants to be Dunk's squire and Dunk could not be less interested. Then, we see "medieval shows, duels and fiery displays."
The first season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will cover the whole of The Hedge Knight, which is set at a tournament in the Reach where Dunk is trying to win the top prize. Several members of noble houses also turn out for the Tournmanet, including Aerion Targaryen. Hijinks ensue. And because this is a Game of Thrones show, they are potentially very dangerous hijinks.
We'll see exactly what Dunk and Egg are in for when the show debuts in *sigh* early 2026.
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