Sometime next year, Game of Thrones fans will be treated to a new prequel show: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on George R.R. Martin's Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas. Set in the years between House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, it will be a different sort of series: smaller, more intimate, and funnier.
The story is about a knight and his squire — Dunk and Egg — who travel the Seven Kingdoms looking for work. They're pretty small time as far as Game of Thrones characters go, but they'll run into some towering figures, including Aerion Targaryen, a particularly crazy and vicious member of Westeros' ruling family. He'll be played by Finn Bennett, who you may remember stealing the scene from Jodie Foster in True Detective: Night Country.
Bennett talked to The Hollywood Reporter about his experience working on the show. "So much fun," he said. "I did sword training, and my favorite part, which may sound really boring, was riding horses. I absolutely loved it." His horse was named Xandor, for the record. "He was a big, big black horse. Very scary looking but the most gentle. Because they are trained within an inch of their lives, these horses, they are the most gentle and most kind. They really look after you when you’re in the saddle."
Bennett has talked before about how much he likes the new show. By the time he got the part, he was already a big fan of Game of Thrones, having binged the whole thing in pandemic lockdown. "Lockdown was obviously really miserable, but at least I had Game of Thrones," he said. "One of the great things about the show — and where a lot of fantasy shows faltered — is that it’s so political in looking at a kind of War of the Roses setup between these great and noble houses, using such a brilliant caliber of European talent. I know there were a few Americans in there as well, but it was largely European actors, and it was shot in Belfast or just outside. It’s just great. I was a huge fan. I also think House of the Dragon is one of the best shows out there right now. I’m really happy for those younger actors who are holding it up and putting up a good fight with the older actors, who are cream of the crop. Just great, great European talent."
Will A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms get the same kind of warm reception as its sister shows? Bennett isn't counting on anything. "Hopefully, I’m lucky enough to do something that will bring that kind of reception. All I can hope is that people like it," he said. "We worked really, really hard on it. The leads are incredible, and showrunner Ira Parker is just a great captain of the ship."
The leads are Peter Claffey as Dunk and Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg. Bennett is playing a supporting role, but it's a juicy, fun supporting role, as you'll see when the episodes start to air. And it almost didn't happen. "I thought I had flubbed [the audition]," he said. "I thought I had done such a terrible job in the audition and I called [my agent Bella Wingfield] as soon as I came out and said, 'It didn’t go well. It didn’t go my way.' She phoned the office of the lovely casting director, Lucy Bevan, and they said, 'No, it went great. It went great.' I thought, well, of course they would say that. I can’t remember how long the wait was but I more or less put it to bed thinking I didn’t get it. Not a chance. When I got the call, I really couldn’t believe it. Warfare was already booked in [my schedule], so I went to go film that and then went straight on to venture into Westeros."
I really liked Bennett's work in True Detective: Night Country and expect him to kill it as an unstable Targaryen. We don't know exactly when A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will be out on HBO and HBO Max, but it should be sometime very early next year.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.