The next Game of Thrones prequel after House of the Dragon may premiere sooner than fans had dared hope. Last week, a casting call posted by agent Lucy Bevan seemed to describe the lead roles for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. According to many reports, this is a sign that the show may begin filming sooner than anticipated.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is the second Game of Thrones spinoff that HBO has officially ordered – though there are many more you might have heard of in development. It is based on the novella series by George R.R. Martin referred to by fans as “The Tales of Dunk & Egg,” and it consists of three installments so far. The story is set about 90 years before the events of A Game of Thrones and follows the hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall, an idealistic young knight with no wealth or support from the nobility, but with a strong moral compass. He takes on the wayward Prince Aegon Targaryen as his squire, not knowing that this boy will grow up to become King Aegon V.
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Those two characters seem to match the descriptions in a casting call posted by Lucy Bevan Casting last week, which asked for a boy aged nine or ten years old. It reads: “The character is wise beyond his years, confident and witty. He has a neutral English accent, and is white with blue/green eyes and pale skin. Must be under 4ft6 and at least nine years old by March 2024 for licensing.” It also asks for someone to play a soldier between the ages of 18 and 25.
“The soldier is very tall and physically strong,” reads the casting call. “He has a humble disposition and is perceptive and thoughtful. Any ethnicity. Must be at least 6ft4.” The height may be of particular interest to fans of Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire. While these archetypes may exist in other stories, it’s rare to specifically set the height minimum for a character so high. However, for Ser Duncan the Tall, it makes a lot of sense.
The call also mentions again that filming is expected to take place in 2024 – perhaps as soon as March. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was officially greenlit back in April, with a team of writers already working on the series. However, after the writers’ strike all summer, some fans feared it would be a long time before they got to see the finished product. If this casting call really does refer to the show, it means that things are moving along quickly and efficiently.
Martin has written three “Dunk & Egg” novellas so far, all collected in the book A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The first novella is titled “The Hedge Knight” – hence the subtitle on the TV series. Presumably, Season 2 will be titled “The Sworn Sword” and Season 3 will be titled “The Mystery Knight.” Martin has mentioned plans to write as many as a dozen of these novellas eventually.
It’s worth noting that these novellas tie into the main Game of Thrones series much more closely than House of the Dragon. Egg is the younger brother of Maester Aemon, who is played by Peter Vaughan in the original series. There are even events in between the novellas and the novels that Martin has refused to explain to fans, saying that it would spoil major plot points in the future. You can check out A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms now in print, digital and audiobook formats. There’s no word yet on when the series might premiere.
