Game of Thrones creator is "so so happy" with new prequel show A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

This past summer, Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin traveled to the United Kingdom to attend the World Science Fiction Convention (where we interviewed him, by the by). He also took a three-day trip to visit the set of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a new Game of Thrones prequel show based on his Dunk & Egg novellas. He's now written about his experience on his Not a Blog, and has nothing but positive things to say!

Let's start with some brief background on Dunk & Egg: the two title characters are a very tall knight and his diminutive squire respectively, to be played on TV by Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell. They meet near Ashford in the Reach, where Dunk is entering a tourney. That adventure is recounted in 1998's The Hedge Knight, the first of the three Dunk & Egg novellas Martin has written so far and the basis for this upcoming season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which will run for six episodes.

The Dunk & Egg novellas are set around 90 years before the events of Game of Thrones, but decades after the end of the story currently being told in Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon. Martin hasn't written as many Dunk & Egg stories as he'd like over the years, busy as he is with his massive A Song of Ice and Fire series. But clearly he has a soft spot for the characters. "By the time I finished the story, I was in love with Dunk & Egg. Still am," he wrote. "I have written a lot of stories over the decades and created a lot of characters. They are all my literary children… some more than others… but Dunk & Egg were special. I  mean to write the rest of their tales as well … in my copious spare time after I finish THE WINDS OF WINTER, yes, yes, I know."

Perhaps part of the appeal is that while A Song of Ice and Fire and Martin's Targaryen history book Fire & Blood are sweeping, epic tales full of huge battles and towering characters, the Dunk & Egg novellas are more intimate "with more humor, more focus on character," although there remains plenty of "danger and death"; this is still George R.R. Martin we're talking about. "KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS is a smaller show than either GAME OF THRONES or HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, with a much smaller budget, but I really want it to be great," Martin wrote. "Ninety per cent of the story is set in a field, surrounded by tents, we would not need the huge sets the other shows had featured, but it couldn’t look fake or cheap either, and the costumes and the heraldry and the fights all had to be splendid, and…I was so so happy when I got there, and saw what [showrunner Ira Parker] and his team had built."

George R.R. Martin saw the first episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: "I loved it."

Lately, Martin has made public some of his misgivings with the direction that the producers on House of the Dragon are taking that series, so it's nice to see him enthusiastic about this new spinoff. "Despite the drizzle and the mud, the excitement on the set was palpable," he wrote. "Everyone I met seemed to be in great spirits, and loved what they were doing."

"And Dunk and Egg — Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell , respectively —  looked as if they just walked out of the pages of my book, and the chemistry between them was just perfect," Martin continued. "The rest of the cast were wonderful as well."

Below, check out Martin with (from left to right) episode director Owen Harris, Peter Claffey in costume as Dunk, and showrunner Ira Parker:

Martin also got a picture with Tanzyn Crawford, who will play the puppeteer Tanselle Too-Tall. "Tanselle’s dragon puppet was very cool as well; can’t wait to see it in action."

Although it's based on a novella of about 30,000 words, well short of the massive novels for which Martin has become known, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms still has a decent-sized cast. Martin didn't visit on a day when all of them were present, but did get to see actor Daniel Iggs in action as Lyonel Baratheon, known as the Laughing Storm. "[H]e was outrageous and fun and Baratheon through and through," Martin enthused.

So far, everything sounds fantastic! And it gets better: "A few weeks after I got back home, I saw a rough cut of the first episode," Martin revealed. "I loved it. I can’t wait to see more."

We don't have a release date nailed down for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms just yet, but Martin is hoping it airs in the spring of 2025. Also, he mentions that "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" is only "probably" going to be the title of the show. Apparently there is still "discussion" over whether to call it The Hedge Knight instead. As someone who appreciates brevity, The Hedge Knight gets my vote.

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