The New Game of Thrones Prequel Finds Its Stars

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A new Game of Thrones prequel is in the works: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, based on George R.R. Martin's Dunk and Egg books, officially got the green light at HBO. And, it will premiere sooner than fans think: David Zaslav, the Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, said that Martin is "in preproduction" and it will air late 2025 on Max.

While we wait, the official logline for the show is as follows: "A century before the events of ‘Game of Thrones,’ two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends." Martin says, "Knighthood and chivalry are central to the themes of these stories."

Here's everything you need to know about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight which may not be the final title for the show:

It's based on the Dunk and Egg books.

There are three novellas in the Dunk and Egg series: The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword, and The Mystery Knight. The three books were collected and published together in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The story follows "Dunk" (the future Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Duncan the Tall) and "Egg" (the future king Aegon V Targaryen), and takes place around 90 years before the original Game of Thrones series.

If you're confused where Aegon V Targaryen falls on the Targaryen family tree: He marries Betha Blackwood, and they have five children. His son, Jaehaerys II, succeeds him on the Iron Throne, and then Jaehaerys's son, Aerys II, becomes king. Aerys II is also known as "the Mad King," the last member of the Targaryen family to sit on the Iron Throne—he's father to Daenerys Targaryen. So, Aegon V is Daenerys's great-grandfather.

Dunk and Egg have been cast.

Peter Claffey will star as "Dunk," Ser Duncan the Tall, and Dexter Sol Ansell will play "Egg," a.k.a. Aegon V. Targaryen. Claffey is a former Irish rugby player who has appeared in Bad Sisters and Wreck; Ansell, who is 9 years old, previously appeared as young Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbird & Snakes.

No additional casting information has been announced yet.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is the second GOT prequel to be greenlit.

George R.R. Martin will executive produce and write for the show, alongside Ira Parker, an executive producer on House of the Dragon season one. Due to the WGA writer's strike, however, writing was paused. "The writer’s room on [The Hedge Knight] has closed for the duration [of the strike]," Martin wrote on his blog. "Ira Parker and his incredible staff of young talents are on the picket lines."

It has been in the works for a long time, however. "Way back in the summer of 2016, when HBO first started thinking about Game of Thrones spinoffs, I pitched them two ideas: the Dance of the Dragons, which in due time became House of the Dragon and Dunk & Egg. That was seven years ago. The lesson there is that development takes time," Martin wrote on his blog. "I see all these stories on the net about other spinoffs being killed or abandoned… no idea where they get this stuff… and it just makes me shake my head."

House of the Dragon, the first GOT prequel, will return with season two this summer. There are numerous other shows in the GOT universe in the works, including a prequel about Aegon Targaryen's conquest of Westeros and a spinoff exploring what happened to Jon Snow after the events of the main series.

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