Details are emerging about new Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon sequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and how it will take the franchise in a fresh direction.
Game of Thrones became the biggest show on the planet during its eight season run, and its follow-up House of the Dragon has also been both a critical and commercial success.
So it’s no surprise that HBO is further plundering the work of George R.R. Martin, with the network busy adapting the author’s ‘Dunk and Egg’ novellas.
Those stories are about to become A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which will debut on HBO early next year, and switch up the formula from what’s gone before.
Dragons and magic will be absent from Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Dragons played a major role in the success of Game of Thrones, with movie-standard special effects bringing the mythical creatures to life in spectacular fashion. Though while the winged beasts also took center stage in sequel series House of the Dragon, they will be absent from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
In a new interview with EW, showrunner Ira Parker reveals that the series plays out 50 years after the death of the last dragon, but that “wasn’t even much of a dragon… it was a sort of gnarled thing that it couldn’t even fly. If you can’t fly, what are you really? They’re just a fancy lizard.”
And while sorcery previously played a major part in proceedings, it won’t here, with Parker explaining: “Nobody’s thinking about magic. This could basically be 14th century Britain. This is hard nose, grind it out, gritty, medieval knights, cold with a really light, hopeful touch. It’s a wonderful place to be. We are ground up in this series, we are starting right at the bottom.”
New series features title card rather than title sequence
But the “most stressful decision” Parker made on Seven Kingdoms was dropping the ornate title sequences that kicked off previous series’, and starting his show with just a title card.
That’s because protagonist Dunk is a simple man from lowly stock, as Parker explains: “All decisions came down to Dunk, trying to channel the type of person he is into every aspect of this show, even the title sequence.
“The title sequences on the original and House of Dragon are big and epic and incredible. Ramin Djawadi’s score is orchestral and large and beautiful. That’s not really Dunk’s M.O. He’s plain and he’s simple and he’s to-the-point. He doesn’t have a lot of flash to him.”
Though Parker wrestled with that decision, adding: “It was not entered into lightly, but it serves our show.”
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