HBO will be debuting a new Game of Thrones prequel series this year: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on the Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas by George R.R. Martin, is set decades before Game of Thrones but decades after House of the Dragon, the other prequel series currently on the air. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is smaller in scale than either of those shows. To put it simply, it's about a stalwart knight named Dunk (Peter Claffey) and his precocious squire Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell). Together, they travel the Seven Kingdoms going on adventures. The novellas still have the politicking and character drama A Song of Ice and Fire fans are used to, but there are no dragons, there are no White Walkers, and there are no huge wars upon which the fate of Westeros hangs. This is a funnier, lighter, brighter series, at least for now.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will be coming along sometime this year, probably in the back half. HBO hasn't released much footage yet, but we did get a new behind-the-scenes pic today. So far as I can tell, this image first popped up on IMDb before spreading around social media:
New BTS look at HBO’s ‘A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS.’ ⚔️🥚 pic.twitter.com/PHTGbeDMWQ
— westerosies (@westerosies) January 21, 2025
The first season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is based on the first novella in Martin's series, "The Hedge Knight," which chronicles how Dunk and Egg meet at a tournament in Ashford Meadow, in the Reach. There are tilts, there is a melee, there is a puppet show...it's like the country fair has come to town, with more blood.
That also means there are spectators up in the stands, which is probably what we're seeing in this shot. The Twitter account @HouseTheDragons thinks we're looking specifically at a climactic moment from the novella here, but it's hard to tell.
Full cast list for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Meanwhile, Redanian Intelligence brings us news of another actor joining the cast: according to them, Russell Simpson will play Lord Medgar Tully.
Russell Simpson will play Lord Medgar Tully in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms pic.twitter.com/TjUFO7cCni
— Redanian Intelligence (@RedanianIntel) January 18, 2025
We can add Simpson to the long list of actors coming to this show. Here's the full list so far:
Actor | Character |
|---|---|
Peter Claffey | Dunk |
Dexter Sol Ansell | Egg |
Danny Webb | Ser Arlan of Pennytree |
Finn Bennett | Aerion "Brightflame" Targaryen |
Bertie Carvel | Baelor "Breakspear" Targaryen |
Sam Spruell | Maekar Targaryen |
Tanzyn Crawford | Tanselle |
Daniel Ings | Lyonel Baratheon |
Edward Ashley | Ser Steffon Fossoway |
Shaun Thomas | Raymun Fossoway |
Youssef Kerkour | Steely Pate |
Daniel Monks | Ser Manfred Dondarrion |
Russell Simpson | Lord Medgar Tully |
Tom Vaughan-Lawlor | Plummer |
Ross Anderson | Humfrey Hardyng |
Steven Calvert | Stormland knight |
Rowan Robinson | Rowan |
Ellie McHale-Roe | Lia the Lovely |
Carla Harrison-Hodge | Beony |
JB Moore | farrier |
Mark O’Connor | musician |
Abigail O'Regan | unknown |
Eric Nolan | unknown |
Michael O'Mara | unknown |
Riain Ó Conchobhaír | unknown |
We look forward to watching A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms later in 2025! And then House of the Dragon will be back for its third season in 2026.
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