George R.R. Martin has shared new details about the newly-announced Game of Thrones prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
The author explained that the series has already been commissioned for a first season, which will comprise the three works wrapped up in the book of the same name. However, Martin also teased a number of other projects before confirming he’s still writing the sixth Game of Thrones book, The Winds of Winter.
Writing on his official website, Martin said of the latest prequel series: “Our premiere season will be an adaptation of the first of the three published novellas, The Hedge Knight, the tale of how Dunk & Egg first met during a tournament at Ashford Meadow.
“The pilot script is already written, and I think it’s terrific. It was written by Ira Parker, who is no stranger to Westeros. He was part of Ryan Condal’s writing staff for the first season of House of The Dragon and wrote the fourth episode of Hot D’s first season, ‘King of the Narrow Sea’.”
Expanding on what few details he was prepared to let slip, Martin said there’s been no release date scheduled at this time – nor a production timeline. “There is no date set yet for the series premiere, or even for the show to begin shooting… but the writing is well underway,” he said.
The fantasy best-seller added that it was his hope that A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms became a “faithful adaptations of those tales for the screen”. Martin concluded by saying that if the show becomes a hit he has plans to ensure The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight tales are also adapted to the screen.
All three works are collected together in the anthology A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms which tell the story of unlikely friends Dunk and Egg – and are the official prequel stories for Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire saga which became HBO’s Game of Thrones.
A synopsis released for the TV adaption reads: “A century before the events of Game Of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young naive 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 added another teaser as he signed off, writing: “I just need to finish The Winds of Winter, and then do either A Dream of Spring [the seventh and final instalment in Song of Fire and Ice saga] or volume two of ‘Fire and 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.”