Game of Thrones prequel series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is one of the lighter and happier stories from the celebrated franchise, author George R.R. Martin recently said, adding that the plot is driven by two characters that he considers his best written ones.
Set nearly 90 years before the events of Game of Thrones, the new show began streaming on JioHotstar on January 19.
Based on George R.R. Martin’s The Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, the series is set a century before the events in Game of Thrones. It follows Ser Duncan the Tall, and his squire, Egg, wandering through Westeros while the Targaryen dynasty rules the Iron Throne, and dragons are still remembered.
“It’s just a story that really seemed to be working for me. And it came alive, and I had these two characters. I knew I had to write more about them because they’re two of the best characters I’ve ever created, and they’re unlike other characters that I have ever created,” the 77-year-old writer said in a video which aired on American cable network HBO.
Writing the character of Egg was a meaningful experience for Martin. “I don’t write a lot about children because I don’t have any. I was one once and I try to go back and see how I was feeling there. So to create a character like Egg and have the feeling that I did it right, and then a character like Dunk — who’s very different from me too — I really like the characters and the general tone of the story,” he said.
Despite containing some crucial elements of his previous worlds of GoT and its prequel House of the Dragon, Martin said the new show carries a different tone.
“[It] is lighter and happier than the other books...I think it's come out wonderfully and that people will really like it,” he added.
“I do know that among my readers, the 'Dunk and Egg' novellas are very popular. A lot of my fans say 'these are the best things George has ever done.' But I think there's enough people who would like the world to be big and varied with a lot of different stories in it,” he said.
“A century before GOT, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his squire, Egg, wandered through Westeros while the Targaryen dynasty ruled the Iron Throne, and dragons were still remembered. Great destinies and enemies await the incomparable friends,” reads the official synopsis of the series on IMDb.
The cast cast includes Finn Bennett, Bertie Carvel, Daniel Ings, Tanzyn Crawford, Sam Spruell, Ross Anderson, Edward Ashley, Henry Ashton, Youssef Kerkour, Daniel Monks, Shaun Thomas, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Steve Wall, and Danny Webb.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is co-written by George RR Martin and Ira Parker, and co-directed by Adina Smith and Owen Harris.