Everything We Know About A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight (2025)

With House of the Dragon’s second season wrapped up and a two-year wait ahead, George R. R. Martin’s fans are itching for more Westeros stories, and fortunately, they don’t have to wait very long. HBO MAX has two spinoffs underway, Aegon the Conqueror and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, which just wrapped filming in Belfast.

Fans who read Martin’s works are familiar with the novella series Tales of Dunk and Egg, which includes the novels The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2003), and The Mystery Knight (2010). The TV adaptation is set to premiere sometime in 2025 on HBO MAX, and its first season involves six episodes. The Hedge Knight will go on for three seasons in total.

The Hedge Knight Will Follow the Game of Thrones Formula

Many Game of Thrones fans took issue with the much faster pace in House of the Dragon. They missed the slow build-up and the extended time viewers could spend with each character, creating an engaged audience. But HotD was never meant to be like GoT. The latter was a show about several rivaling families spread over the whole continent and beyond. HotD centers around one family and mainly two locations. Therefore, the story setup felt much smaller to begin with.

Season 1 of HotD was a quasi-prequel to The Dance of the Dragons, aiming to tell a story spanning over 20 years of history in ten episodes. With time skips and several actors cast for the same role to represent the passage of time, it seems almost impossible to inspire an emotional connection between character and audience compared to a story in real-time. Additionally, there were a lot of dragons whose storylines were just as prominent as those of humans. In contrast, The Hedge Knight’s structure and style will emulate Game of Thrones, providing a slower pace with two leads traveling through Westeros while encountering many adventures along the way.

The Predicted Storyline for Season 1 of The Hedge Knight

The first novella, The Hedge Knight, starts with Dunk when he buries Ser Arlan of Pennytree, whom he had been squiring for the last ten years. At the time, Dunk is about 16 years old but very tall for his age. Dunk, an orphan, was born in Flea Bottom until Ser Arlan took him under his wing. He taught him the ways of Knighthood and the values of honor. Dunk and Arlan were on their way to Ashford Meadow to participate in a tournament. Dunk decides to go there regardless to show off his skills as a fighter. He hopes to find employment in another House.

He encounters a young bald boy named Egg en route to Ashford at an Inn who asks him to be his squire, but Dunk rejects him initially. When Dunk arrives in Ashford, he is forced to sell one of his horses and Arlan’s armor to buy armor for himself. He meets Tanselle, who offers to paint his sigil on his newly acquired shield. Later, Tanselle gets attacked by Aerion Targaryen, and Dunk rushes to her defense. Three of Aerion’s guards attack him, but Egg comes to the rescue, revealing his true identity: He is Prince Aegon Targaryen. Dunk is brought inside the castle to face Baelon Targaryen, who assumes that Dunk kidnapped Aegon.

Baelon (King Maekar's son), infuriated by the events, demands a trial by combat, but unlike the trials in GoT, it’s a trial of Seven against Seven. Egg helps Dunk find six men to fight alongside him against the Targaryens. Afterward, Dunk participates in the tourney and gains fame as he wins every joust and ultimately wins the tournament. After Dunk’s success, he is asked to train Egg to become a better knight than his brother Aerion. That’s how Egg and Dunk travel the entire continent together. The Hedge Knight is essentially a story of honor, friendship, and the complexities of social status, all while weaving a rich narrative within the fabric of Westeros's history.

The Tales of Dunk and Egg series isn’t nearly as well-known as the Song of Ice and Fire series, but fans who read the books fell in love with them. George R. R. Martin, listed as producer and creator, raved about the progress. In July, he visited the sets in Belfast and seemed very enthusiastic. The Hedge Knight wrapped production just a few days ago, and now, the post-production period begins.

The Hedge Knight Might Bring Back Some Familiar Faces

Those unfamiliar with these novellas might rejoice that some characters they knew from Game of Thrones will likely appear in The Hedge Knight. The stories take place about 70 years after the events in House of the Dragon and roughly 90 years before the events in Game of Thrones.

The Return of Maester Aemon Targaryen

Fans came to love the Maester of the Night’s Watch who is actually Egg’s brother. Aemon was the third child of Maekar and Lady Dyana and Egg’s senior by two years. Aemon and Egg, both rather bookish, were very close, and occasionally, they would pretend that their dragon eggs hatched. It was Aemon who gave his little brother the nickname Egg.

Aemon was one of those milder-tempered Targaryens who preferred to read. In GoT he was over a hundred years old and often steered things in the right direction. Aemon's vote swung the election for the next Lord Commander of the Knight’s Watch in Jon Snow's favor. Maester Aemon frequently advised Jon and Sam, providing them with wisdom. It would be interesting to discover what he was like as a child, especially considering his effect in Game of Thrones.

Old Nan, the Stark's Caregiver

Who could forget the nurse and nanny of the Stark family at Winterfell, telling Bran scary stories about Ice Spiders, big as hounds, and many other gruesome tales? No one knows Old Nan’s exact age, but it is estimated to be between 185 and 211 AC.

The Hedge Knight's story begins in 209 in the book, and if Old Nan was born in the earlier years of the date range, she could make an appearance. Old Nan had many fun quotes in Game of Thrones. In fact, “sweet summer child,” often used by die-hard fans, came from Old Nan.

Walder Frey, the Disloyal Troublemaker

The Lord of the Twins was not a beloved character in GoT. He conspired with the Lannisters to kill Rob, Talisa, and Lady Catelyn Stark at the Red Wedding. Walder was born in 208 and probably wouldn’t appear in the first season unless some characters are aged up or down. However, he could be featured in Season 2 or 3.

In The Mystery Knight, Little Walder was at the wedding of his older sister at Whitewalls, and apparently, the reason for the marriage, after he discovered that his sister had an intimate relationship with a servant. Dunk thought Walder was an extremely annoying child and felt tempted to throw him down a well. Seeing a young Walder would certainly be entertaining.

Bloodraven, a Connection to Bran Stark and Daemon Targaryen

In Daemon's final vision at Harrenhal, he sees a man with a birthmark on his face and the Three-Eyed Raven. In Fire & Blood, he was known as Lord Brynden, the son of King Aegon IV, born in 175 AC.

Dunk and Egg's stories take place shortly after the First Blackfyre Rebellion. This conflict arose when Aegon IV legitimized all of his bastards on his deathbed, including Brynden. Bloodraven supported Daeron II Targaryen, who was believed to be Aegon IV's legitimate son, though according to rumors, he was actually the son of Aemon Targaryen. The Hedge Knight explores how these rebellions impacted House Targaryen and the realm. During the reign of Aerys I, Dunk and Egg encounter Bloodraven, further intertwining their journey with the complexities of Targaryen history.

A Brighter Future Ahead

The Hedge Knight will cover one novella per season. George R. R. Martin was impressed with the cast, saying Ser Duncan the Tall and Egg looked like they walked straight off the pages of his books. After all the drama surrounding the later seasons of Game of Thrones and the second season of House of the Dragon, the newest spinoff might be a show worth watching with great adventures and character-driven scenes.

Unlike Fire & Blood, the Tales of Dunk and Egg are rich novellas filled with Martin’s clever dialogue, making them easy to adapt to the screen. The Hedge Knight promises to rekindle the magic of storytelling that captivated audiences for years.

A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight