Great news, Game of Thrones fans! Finally, we’ve got more news about the upcoming HBO adaptation of the Dunk and Egg books. The first season is set to adapt Dunk and Egg’s initial novella, The Hedge Knight. Recently, George R.R. Martin dished more info on Max’s (formerly HBO Max) freshly unveiled Game of Thrones prequel series. Currently, it’s called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. However, this name will likely change when Max airs the show.
Martin used his blog earlier to spill the beans on the upcoming series. Firstly, he clarified that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is only a temporary title. However, he also said the show’s final title wouldn’t include the names Dunk and Egg. According to him:
“Dunk & Egg sounds like a sitcom. Laverne & Shirley. Abbott & Costello. Beavis & Butthead. So, no. We want ‘knight’ in the title. Knighthood and chivalry are central to the themes of these stories.”
Naturally, that’s sure to upset some fans. After all, many call the novella series the Dunk and Egg books! However, it makes sense why they’re avoiding this title, as they want viewers to know it’s not a comedy series.
Of course, Martin can only reveal a little about the series. But he did provide some insight into how many episodes there will be.
“HBO has given us a greenlight to film for a full season (not just a pilot), most likely of six episodes… though that is not set in stone, and won’t be until considerably later in the process.”
Clearly, HBO has high hopes for Dunk and Egg books adaptation. And why shouldn’t they?!
Dunk and Eggs Books HBO Series
Image: Voyager Books
Last week, HBO announced that the prequel series is officially joining Warner Bros. Discovery’s new combined streaming platform, Max. The series will adapt Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg books. The first is titled The Hedge Knight, which came out in 1998. In 2003, we got the sequel The Sworn Sword, with the final entry, Mystery Knight, coming in 2010. Eventually, these three works were brought together in a collection titled A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Hence the show’s title!
The story unfolds roughly a century before Game of Thrones, during the Targaryen reign on the Iron Throne. The narrative centers on a knight called Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Aegon V Targaryen. As you might have guessed, fans dubbed the pair Dunk and Egg.
Martin disclosed that the first season would adapt The Hedge Knight. This book shows how Dunk and Egg initially crossed paths at an Ashford Meadow tournament. Ira Parker, who penned House of the Dragon’s fourth episode, King of the Narrow Sea, wrote the pilot script. Additionally, Martin and House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal will serve as executive producers for the Dunk and Egg books adaptation.
Additionally, Martin mentioned that subsequent seasons would adapt The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight. Beyond that, the situation becomes complex, as Martin has even more Dunk and Egg novellas in the pipeline.
Game of Thrones Prequel Series
According to Martin, it’s not over for the Dunk and Egg books. In fact, he said:
“There are… gulp… more of them than I had once thought. There’s ‘The Village Hero’ and the Winterfell story, the one with the She-Wolves, and maybe I need to write that Dornish adventure too to slip in between ‘The Hedge Knight’ and ‘The Sworn Sword,’ and after that there are… ah… more. I just need to finish The Winds of Winter, and then do either A Dream of Spring or volume two of Fire & Blood, and slip in a new Dunk & Egg between each of those in my copious spare time… and that will keep me ahead of Ira and his merry crew… for a few more years.”
So who knows how many episodes there’ll be?!
In October last year, Martin said The Winds of Winter is “about three-quarters of the way done.” So, it might take some time before the author begins the next Dunk and Egg adventure.
If you can’t wait until the Dunk and Egg books come to the screen – don’t worry. There’s the second season of House of the Dragon, which will potentially arrive in 2024. Clearly, the Game of Thrones franchise is continuing to grow!