Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to ride on the success of Game of Thrones, with more spinoff projects planned in the franchise. HBO ordered a prequel series, titled A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, in April 2023. It will be the third project in the World of Westeros. New reports from the studio suggest that the project will premiere in late 2025. However, fans are skeptical about the project at this stage.
The new series based on George R. R. Martin’s books will be written and executive-produced by Martin and Ira Parker. Ryan Condal, the House of the Dragon showrunner, serves as another one of the executive producers on this spin-off show.
Fans Don’t Want Another Game Of Thrones Spin-Off Series
According to TVLine, WBD boss David Zaslav announced the Game of Thrones prequel show, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, will premiere in late 2025. He made the big reveal during the company’s Q4 earnings call on Friday. The story was pitched along with The Dance of the Dragons, the latter of which turned into the first prequel series from the franchise, House of the Dragons.
In January 2021, Variety reported rumors about a pitch for a GoT prequel series based on George R. R. Martin‘s short stories, Tales of Dunk and Egg. Deadline reported in November 2021 that the series was in development, with Martin later confirming it on his blog in 2022. The series was greenlit during WBD’s upfront presentation on April 12, 2023. HBO head of drama, Francesca Orsi, confirmed that the series would run for three seasons, mapping out the three novellas Martin wrote (via Deadline).
Fans are totally against this prequel season for a number of reasons. For one, they are still pissed about the horrible eighth season of Game of Thrones. They are also against the idea of another prequel series before the wrapping of House of the Dragon. A few criticized the studio for trying to milk money out of the Westeros stories. Some fans also complained about how the original series could have been developed more instead of producing more spinoffs. Several fan reactions read:
A spin off would be a bad decision and should not be done.
— Stanley tamz (@StanleyTamz) February 23, 2024
Why do we need another spin-off. Must studios milk everything for money?
— ∂αιℓуσ∂∂ѕ (@DailyoddsX_Ng) February 23, 2024
man they’re diluting the Game of Thrones with these ridiculous amounts of spin-offs
— trivikramkavuri (@trivikramkavuri) February 23, 2024
GoT universe gonna end up like Walking Dead universe with a million spin-offs smh
— King (@KingLouisxxiii) February 23, 2024
Still havent forgiven HBO for that awful ending for the original series.
Instead of a second spin off, they could have kept it going.
— Mista 🇬🇾 (@mistanders0n) February 23, 2024
Fix season 8 if they want to "revive" the franchise. Other than that, it's over.
— Chris Keggy (@JustLoseBaby) February 23, 2024
The casting of the series is underway headed by casting director Lucy Bevan, known for her recent work in The Batman and Barbie. The casting sheet went public on October 20, 2023, and the production is expected to begin around early to mid-2024. It will be preceded by the second season of House of the Dragon, which will premiere in the summer of 2024.
What Is The Upcoming Game Of Thrones Spin-Off About?
The new series, The Hedge Knight, will be focused on two primary characters — Duncan the Tall, a young hedge knight, and Aegon “Egg” Targaryen, Duncan’s squire. The story is set 89 years before the events of the original series and almost 77 years after the events of season one of House of the Dragon. According to Variety, the official logline of the series reads:
“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.”
Interestingly, Martin confirmed that he was in talks with HBO for a possible adaptation of Tales of Dunk and Egg as far back as 2013 when the original series was running successfully (via Westeros.org). In 2016, he pitched the idea to the studio but was rejected. It appears that the author has been confident about his work for a long.
Fans should trust Martin on this one and give the series a chance. Game of Thrones is now available for streaming on Max.
