When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die — or so the saying goes. And with House Of The Dragon Season 2 getting off to a flying start as a third season has already been confirmed to be on the way, Game Of Thrones fans just can't stop winning. (Well, besides the fact we're still waiting for George R. R. Martin to finish writing The Winds Of Winter, obvs.) Now, in yet another exciting bit of Thrones news for fans of the fantasy franchise, HBO have just released a first look at upcoming prequel series A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms alongside some exciting casting news as filming on the series gets underway in Belfast.
New additions to the prequel, which has been written by House Of The Dragon scribes Martin and Ira Parker, include Finn Bennett (True Detective: Night Country), Bertie Carvel (The Crown), Tanzyn Crawford (Tiny Beautiful Things), Daniel Ings (The Gentlemen) and Sam Spruell (Fargo). Bennett is set to play Aerion Targaryen, with Carvel as Baelor Targaryen, Crawford as Tanselle, Ings as Ser Lyonel Baratheon, and Spruell as Maekar Targaryen respectively. They join the previously announced Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell as Ser Duncan The Tall and his squire Egg, the infamous Dunk and Egg from the Westeros-set short stories on which this show is based. What's more, Lessons In Chemistry's Sarah Adina Smith has signed up to direct three of the fantasy series' six episodes.
Set a century before the events of Game Of Thrones, A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms (not to be confused with the main show's Season 8 episode of the same name) follows young, naïve but courageous knight Ser Duncan The Tall (Claffey) and his diminutive squire Egg (Ansell) as the two unlikely heroes wander Westeros together. Per the series' official synopsis: "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."
With the first series of A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms set to focus solely on novella 'The Hedge Knight', the first of Martin's Dunk and Egg tales, there's room for adaptations of further adventures 'The Sworn Sword' and 'The Mystery Knight' yet should the as-yet-undated show be successful. But, of course, only time will tell whether the latest Thrones spin-off will turn out to be a slam Dunk, or if it will leave HBO with Egg on their faces.