Hark! New news from the world of Westeros! HBO‘s second official Game of Thrones prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, is officially gearing up to shoot its first six-episode-long season! The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Black Mirror “San Junipero” director Owen Harris has been enlisted to oversee the first three episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1, thereby establishing the visual tone of the new GoT series.
But that’s not all! Five days ago, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms star Dexter Sol Ansell posted a video on Instagram showing the most important part of his physical transformation to play George R.R. Martin‘s squire character, Egg. The young actor took us to the barber shop with him to have his blonde hair shaved off, just as Egg does in Martin’s “Dunk and Egg” stories so he can successfully sneak around Westeros without anyone realizing he’s a Targaryen prince.
Between news of Owen Harris joining the new Game of Thrones prequel series and this wholesome update, it won’t be long before A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms kicks off production, putting it in line to premiere about a year after House of the Dragon Season 2 bows this June on HBO and Max.
We learned last month that Irish rugby player-turned-actor Peter Claffey had won the lead role of Ser Duncan the Tall, nicknamed Dunk, in HBO’s upcoming A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Dexter Sol Ansell, who recently played young Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games: The Battle of Songbirds and Snakes, was tapped to play Dunk’s devoted squire Egg.
George R.R. Martin’s “Dunk and Egg” stories are set about one hundred years after House of the Dragon and another century before the events of Game of Thrones. Ser Duncan is a poor orphan from Flea Bottom who becomes a hedge knight’s squire simply through virtue of his wild height and strength. After his master’s death, Dunk attempts to forge a path for himself as a young hero…only to be pulled into Targaryen politics through a series of fated connections. The most important one? A young bald boy named Egg gloms onto Ser Duncan in the hopes of being a squire. In face, “Egg” is actually Prince Aegon, the future Aegon IV of Westeros (and the beloved brother of Maester Aemon from the original GoT).
George R.R. Martin commented on the casting on his “Not a Blog” a month ago, noting that Claffey was tall and talented and that Ansell was seasoned and eager to shave his head. We can see the boy’s giddy delight in the Instagram clip.
Not only did the official Game of Thrones social media account like the post — meaning the kid’s not in any trouble! — but Ansell’s costar Claffey replied, “There’s a squire I can trust my life with ❤️”. Ansell meanwhile answered, “always ⭐️”.
The “Dunk and Egg” tales are slightly lighter fare to the likes of House of the Dragon. Think A Knight’s Tale meets Game of Thrones, so it makes sense that HBO’s higher ups wouldn’t mind a cute kid sharing his barber shop experience.
The Hollywood Reporter also noted in its exclusive today that there will be only six episodes in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and that it seems HBO has officially shortened the show’s title down from the originally announced, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is presently eyeing a 2025 premiere. Can’t wait that long for more knights, squires, and Targaryen drama? House of the Dragon Season 2 premieres on HBO and Max on June 16, 2024.
