Game of Thrones has another prequel in the works, and it’s coming to HBO next year. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight has finished filming season one ahead of its Summer 2025 release date. As the wait for House of the Dragon season three looms over the fanbase, The Hedge Knight will ensure we don’t skip a single year of Targaryen supremacy.
Will The Hedge Knight Play The Game of Thrones?
A new Game of Thrones prequel is set to hit HBO, and production just wrapped on the six-episode first season. The upcoming Hedge Knight series is based on novellas written by Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin. They take place in Westeros, years after the Targaryen civil war of House of the Dragon, but before the Long Night threatens the protagonists in Game of Thrones.
The story follows the adventures of the young Egg (another Targaryen princeling named Aegon, as is tradition) and his sworn knight Ser Duncan The Tall. They travel the Seven Kingdoms, meeting colorful characters – and more Targaryens, of course. Throughout their journey, the royal Egg learns about his land and people, and the lowborn yet noble Ser Dunc tries to keep him alive.
As part of his ongoing development deal with HBO, Martin has kept close tabs on the show, with him recently visiting the set. He updated fans on his blog regarding his latest activities. “My various television projects ate up most of those months. Some of that was pleasant (DARK WINDS, and THE HEDGE KNIGHT), but most of it was not,” the author wrote.
The mention of The Hedge Knight was a rare and brief lighthearted spot in the otherwise morose blog post. He went on to mention mounting stress over his many obligations, which perennially include writing The Winds of Winter, the sixth installment in the A Song of Ice and Fire book series, now 13 years in the making. Still, this one bit of positivity is reassuring coming from Martin this month, after he made headlines when he posted about some different worries and unfavorable opinions.
Dragons Can’t Dance on TV
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Martin waded into some drama regarding another of his TV programs. In a now-deleted post on his blog, he openly criticized the direction in which showrunners and HBO executives took the Targaryens’ story in season two of House of the Dragon. He also hinted at further deviations from the source in the coming seasons.
A Song of Ice and Fire – the basis of the Game of Thrones TV show – is Martin’s famously unfinished book series. Some fans blame the original show’s plot discrepancies and hasty ending on the lack of material from the author. In that case, the showrunners were forced to switch gears away from writing an adaptation and into scripting original content.
Yet the entire tale of House of the Dragon is based on a completed section of the book Fire and Blood. Martin wrote an ending for each character in this generation of Targaryens. Adaptation differences are often expected in these instances – and tend to be received with mixed feelings from book fans regardless of quality. Nevertheless, Martin himself was taken aback by the adjustments made to his story this season, citing future character motivations as a particular worry.
It’s too early to predict how Martin will feel about the next seasons of The Hedge Knight, though he seems happy with the project now. Each novella has a definitive ending, so it’s unlikely that he will have to deal with the sort of improvising that occurred with Game of Thrones. But, as House of the Dragon has shown him, budgetary and logistical concerns will forever take precedence over his meticulously crafted plots.
Final Thoughts
For Martin’s sake, we can hope that the third time’s the charm when it comes to onscreen adaptations of his magnum opus. While House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones were financially successful outings for Westeros, Martin has yet to experience a loyal rendering of his works. Both the medium itself and the executive landscape of television may simply be too incompatible with his vision. But perhaps Ser Dunc will ride to his rescue.
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