It's safe to say that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is another success story for HBO. The third installment of the Game of Thrones franchise, it has recreated the formula that worked so well for both the original series and fellow spinoff House of the Dragon and it has kickstarted another chapter of one of TV's most famous stories.
But that chapter has come to a close for the moment, as the first season has concluded. So, naturally, fans are wondering what's next. If you're hoping for good news about Dunk and Egg's next adventure, then you're in luck because, yes, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 is happening!
With that in mind, here is everything you need to know about it, including what's going on with production and when you can expect it to premiere.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 is in production
HBO officially renewed A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms for a second season back in November. To give you an indicator of just how much faith the cable network has in the show, that was two months before it even aired / streamed on TV screens. Clearly they had an inkling that fans would respond to Ser Duncan the Tall and Egg in the way that they ultimately have: With pure love and affection.
To add to the excitement further, production on that second season is already underway. Showrunner Ira Parker has confirmed that filming is taking place in Belfast, Northern Ireland, officially kicking off back in December. While it's set to be more of a challenging, ambitious project than its predecessor, Parker has also confirmed that the creative team have already begin reviewing footage and cutting scenes together - another indicator of how committed all involved are to bring it to the screen as soon as possible.
If that makes it sound like the team are fast-tracking the project, then that's because they are, as HBO has plans for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' return which, for this day and age, is absolutely sooner than you might think.
The second season currently has a release window of 2027
As it currently stands, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 is expected to release in 2027. HBO CEO Casey Bloys previously revealed in an interview with Deadline that the cable network has a plan in place for the Game of Thrones spinoff to adopt an annual release strategy, meaning that it should come out next year if all goes to plan. The fact that filming on season 2 is already well underway lends itself to this school of thought nicely.
Fans have grown accustomed to - and weary of - big budget shows taking multiple years between seasons. House of the Dragon is the perfect example of that, as it has released its first, second, and third seasons every other year. As television continues to grow in scale and size, this is becoming a continued problem for TV viewers as these larger-than-life productions are essentially multi-episode movies, meaning that they require lengthy productions and, sometimes, even longer post-production periods. Fans have been particularly critical of House of the Dragon for this as this wasn't a problem for Game of Thrones - which aired seven of its eight seasons in consecutive years (with only the final season being the exception).
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, however, doesn't focus on dragons, so there would be far less editing and effects required than there would be for its two predecessors. That, coupled with the smaller-scale story, more light-hearted approach, and generally shorter episodes, allows for a much tighter release schedule. Music to fans' ears, indeed!
It will adapt the second Dunk and Egg novella
If you've read all of the Game of Thrones lore, you'll know that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is based on George R. R. Martin's Dunk and Egg novellas, telling the story of Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg (a.k.a. Aegon Targaryen). The first season has adapted the first of those novellas, The Hedge Knight, so it will probably come as no surprise to learn that the next one will adapt the second: The Sworn Sword.
There are three Dunk and Egg novellas, which has understandably raised questions about whether the show will continue on beyond a potential third season. However, showrunner Ira Parker has dreams of doing even more than that, adding that he would love for Martin to write more of the pair's stories. In fact, he reveals that he hopes to tell that story across multiple decades, telling Esquire:
"The truth is—and I've pitched this to HBO with a couple very polite eye rolls—I want to do four or five now with Egg as a kid. Then, I want to come back in ten years and do four or five more seasons with Egg the Prince."
He added that he wouldn't want any recastings involved, as he would love to have the real Dexter Ansell and real Peter Claffey "just the age that they are at that point", adding that they would then "come back ten years after that and do well, Egg the adult".
Honestly, this is a great approach to the story. While other studios might risk fast-tracking projects, calling for recasts, it takes a lot of vision, ambition, and bravery to tell a long-form story over years. We've actually seen this approach in British television before, with the creator of Happy Valley waiting seven years before making the final season to allow the actors / characters to reach a different point in their lives before returning.
Needless to say that audiences have fallen in love with Dunk and Egg - and their adventures - over the course of the first season, so they'll be thrilled at the prospect of more stories in the near-future. Although HBO has yet to announce just how many adventures are still to come from the newest chaotic duo of Westeros, the first of them - season 2 - is on its way to screens. And, all being well, it will arrive on both HBO and HBO Max next year.
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