George R.R. Martin has a very different opinion about another Game of Thrones spin-off after his criticism of House of the Dragon. Martin appears to be extremely happy about the way A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is progressing at HBO. He visited the sets of the spin-off series and commented that his readers would definitely love Dunk and Egg from the series.
Martin was in talks with HBO for a possible adaptation of his Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas as far back as 2013. He pitched the idea to the studio in 2016 only to be rejected. Fans came to know about the project when rumors of the pitch were reported in early 2021.
George R.R. Martin Has High Hopes For New Game of Thrones Spin-Off
George R.R. Martin confirmed the development of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms in 2022 via his blog. WBD boss David Zaslav officially announced the project earlier this year and shared that it will premiere in late 2025. Martin will serve as one of the executive producers of the series along with Ira Parker, who will be the showrunner.
Martin only has words of praise for the new series in the works. He shared that he visited the sets of the series in Northern Island and was really impressed with what he saw. He felt as if the characters Dunk and Egg walked right out of the pages of his book. Martin shared in a statement (via THR):
I visited the set in Northern Ireland in July and loved what I saw. Great cast. [The lead characters] Dunk and Egg look as if they walked out of the pages of my book. My readers are going to love them. I certainly do. [Showrunner Ira Parker] is doing a great job.
Earlier this year, Martin shared that the series will be a lot shorter than the previous two adaptations. While the series will have a different tone from the earlier two series, Martin promised that Westeros will continue to shock the viewers. He praised the team behind the series, especially showrunner Ira Parker and director Owen Harris. Martin wrote in his blog:
The Hedge Knight will be a lot shorter than Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon, with a much different tone… but it’s still Westeros, so no one is truly safe. Ira Parker and his team are doing a great job. Oh, and we have our director as well: Owen Harris, a terrific British director whose credits include helming ‘San Junipero’, my all-time favorite episode of Black Mirror. Owen will direct three of our six episodes.
Last month, Max released a teaser for the series, featuring Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan the Tall, aka Dunk, and Dexter Sol Ansell as Aegon V Targaryen, aka Egg. In the teaser, fans get to see shots of Claffey’s Dunk in his armor and a young Egg sitting by a fire.
The first season of the series will reportedly adapt Martin’s The Hedge Knight, the first among the three-part novellas. It is assumed that seasons 2 and 3 will adapt the subsequent novellas, The Sworn Sword and Mystery Knight.
George R.R. Martin Hates ‘Toxic’ Changes To House of the Dragon And Expects More To Come
George R.R. Martin initially had high opinions of Ryan Condal’s House of the Dragon Season 2, but his stance has now become more critical. In a deleted post, Martin talked about one of the pressing issues he had with the Blood & Cheese episode in the series (via Variety). Martin was not happy with the series removing one crucial character altogether.
He shared that Aegon and Helaena Targaryen’s youngest son, Prince Maelor, was removed entirely from the season. He wrote in his blog that the character Maelor has some larger repercussions for the future of the series. He expressed this issue to Condal, who justified the decision by stating the difficulties in bringing a toddler actor to the set.
Martin ended his post by sharing that HOTD is about to make more “toxic” changes to the plotline. He shared, “And there are larger and more toxic butterflies to come, if HOUSE OF THE DRAGON goes ahead with some of the changes being contemplated for seasons 3 and 4…”
HBO responded that while they were huge fans of the writer, the showrunner had to make difficult choices due to the “format and limitations” of the medium.
Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are now available for streaming on Max. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will arrive on the platform in late 2025.
