House of the Dragon was a slam-popularity dunk, to the point where a building full of NYC Game of Thrones obsessives went viral for everyone watching those fire breathers light up at the same time. Thus proving that event TV can still exist, even in the streaming era, HBO quickly greenlit a second HotD season, and less than two years after the show’s debut, it’s coming your way soon.
This success also began to open doors for other George R.R. Martin-penned source material, and indeed, Westeros will receive plenty more airtime. HotD will likely run for four seasons, and an Aegon the Conqueror series is in planning stages. Additionally, production has begun for a HotD sequel/GoT prequel formerly known as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. Let’s get down to business on everything that’s rolled out so far on the show.
Plot
As viewers are aware, House of the Dragon‘s events take place around 300 years before A Song of Fire and Ice begins. And in between that time (about 100 years prior to ASOFAI), George R.R. Martin’s affectionately-known “Dunk and Egg” novellas fill in some gaps when the Targaryens are still kind-of hanging onto power, and dragons are essentially extinct, although we know what happens when Daenerys hangs out in that funeral pyre fire.
GRRM’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms trilogy of novellas include not only The Hedge Knight but also The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight. At this point, The Hedge Knight remains a working title for the series, which takes place when Westeros was celebrating the chivalry of knights. Somehow, that existed as a principle after Ser Criston Cole’s saltiness over Rhaenyra declining to run away with him led him to embrace Incel territory. As well, this show takes place long after the more noble knights, Erryk and Arryk Cargyll, chose their respective sides during the Dance of the Dragons.
The official HBO description of this spinoff is as follows:
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.
Now, what of this “Egg”? Well, that’s an alias, of course. Not even in Westeros is anyone truly of that name.
His true identity is fairly well known to GRRM readers and some TV viewers, but if you don’t want to know, then do not read further….
Seriously.
Last warning.
Egg is the cloaked identity of Aegon V Targaryen, a successor of Aegon the Conqueror and Aegon II, who recently claimed the Iron Throne at the end of House of the Dragon‘s first season. He’s also a predecessor to Jon Snow, also an Aegon Targaryen. As far as Aegon V goes, we get to know him while he serves as Ser Duncan the Tall’s squire. He was quite adamant about scoring that gig, too, which should be a joy to watch. These two are not exactly Tyrion Lannister and Podrick Payne but are substantial enough to serve as the central focus of a series.
GRRM has also been busy building other Westeros-fueled ideas for HBO’s pipeline. The author recently revealed that the planned Sea Snake show has moved to animated format, and a Nyemeria series is still being developed. No one knows what is up with the supposed Jon Snow show, but that’s alright because Jon/Aegon VI also apparently knows nothing. Two additional animated series are in the works, too.
Cast
HBO hasn’t yet publicized who will be portraying Ser Duncan the Tall, but obviously, he must be physically imposing. Several well-known actors fit the bill, including Alan Ritchson, who is far too busy pumping out Reacher for Amazon. Chris Hemsworth would be a fine addition, although he is arguably too well-known at this point, and it’s hard to see him being able to break away from his long string of movies for a series that will span a trilogy of books and possibly longer. The same goes for Henry Cavill, who has been freed up from The Witcher but has been doing movies and is firing up Warhammer 40,000 projects for Amazon.
Where does that leave Ser Duncan? In the books, he’s nearly seven feet tall, which is a hard bill to completely fill, but that’s what Hollywood magic is for, and Tom Hopper is already familiar with those mechanisms to portray The Umbrella Academy‘s Luther (with his body being filled out to new dimensions by a half-gorilla suit underneath those snug clothes). That Netflix series already finished production on its final season, so look who is available to fill that lead role? Hopefully, HBO has him on the list.
Release Date
HBO has earmarked this series for a 2025 release, which is a rather incredible turnaround time, and this also means that Westeros obsessives will have a show to fill that gap between the second and third season of House of the Dragon. Also, this series has already received a full-season first order, rather than simply a pilot like the failed Bloodmoon.
Trailer
Obviously, no trailer exists yet, but this clip from a 2019 George R.R. Martin interview reveals how he conceived Dunk and Egg.
