A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: everything we know so far about the next Game of Thrones prequel

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (AKotSK) is less than three months away from being released. The next Game of Thrones (GoT) prequel will make its bow in January 2026 – and, after the release of its first trailer in October 2025, interest has steadily grown in the upcoming HBO Max TV Original.

If you're among those wanting to know more about it, you've come to the right place. Below, I've rounded up the most important information on AKotSK, including its cast, story details, and the aforementioned trailer. So, mount your trusty steed and let's embark on a new trip to Westeros to learn more about HBO's next GoT adaptation.

A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms release date

In October, HBO announced A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms would debut on January 18, 2026. Confirmation of its official launch date came just days after it was revealed A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms would arrive next January, so we already knew it would air after New Year's Day 2026.

A six-part installment, AKotSK's first season will drop with a single-episode premiere on release day. New entries will air weekly on Sundays in North and South America, and Mondays everywhere else.

A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms trailer

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms | Official Teaser Trailer | HBO Max - YouTube

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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' first trailer was unveiled at New York Comic-Con on October 9. It teased more intimate action and drama, suggested it'll be a more jovial Westeros-based story than Thrones or House of the Dragon (HotD), and gave us our first proper look at its two lovable underdogs. Speaking of which...

A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms confirmed cast

Here's the confirmed cast for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms so far:

• Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan 'Dunk' the Tall
• Dexter Sol Ansell as 'Egg'
• Daniel Ings as Ser Lyonel Baratheon
• Bertie Carvel as Prince Baelor 'Breakspear' Targaryen
• Finn Bennett as Prince Aerion 'Brightflame' Targaryen
• Sam Spruell as Prince Maekar Targaryen
• Henry Ashton as Daeron 'The Drunken' Targaryen
• Tanzyn Crawford as Tanselle
• Danny Webb as Ser Arlan of Pennytree
• Shaun Thomas as Raymun Fossoway
• Edward Ashley as Ser Steffon Fossoway
• Youssef Kerkour as Steely Pate
• Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Plummer
• Daniel Monks as Ser Manfred Dondarrion
• Steve Wall as Lord Leo 'Longthorn' Tyrell
• Ross Anderson as Ser Humfrey Hardyng

As this section's X/Twitter post confirms, Claffey and Ansell will portray Dunk and Egg, aka the main characters of the novella trilogy penned by Thrones and HotD author George R.R. Martin.

Bennett, Carvel, Crawford, Ings, and Spruell are also on board in key supporting roles. The rest of AKotSK's cast are all set to guest star throughout the show's debut season.

A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms story synopsis

Potential spoilers follow for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 and 'The Hedge Knight', aka the book it's based on.

Here's AKotSK's official story brief: "A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire Egg.

"Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends."

As its plot synopsis reveals, AKotSK is set 90 years before GoT. At this point on the timeline, Westeros is a far cry from the dragon-rich world it was amid HotD's Targaryen Civil War. AKotSK won't be so magic-focused or politically-charged as Thrones, either, nor will it be so concerned with the various Houses that populate Martin's high fantasy world.

"This could basically be 14th century Britain," showrunner Ira Parker told Entertainment Weekly (EW). "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," Parker continued. "We're not with the lords and ladies [or] the kings and queens. To find a totally different version of this world that everybody seems to know so well was very, very appealing. The fact that we live in this world, though, where magic once existed is very interesting to me. This is the ground and the grass that has seen dragons and dragon fire before. So everything is just like how the world is, but a little stranger, a little different."

As for the story it'll tell, the series' first season will adapt 'The Hedge Knight', the first installment of the 'Dunk and Egg' book trilogy that was released in 1998. Its title is a reference to wandering warriors who make a living by lending their services – for a price, of course – to those in need.

In it, 'Dunk' sets out to compete in the Ashford Meadow tourney in a bid to follow in his late master Ser Arlan's footsteps and earn some coin. Along the way, Dunk acquires his own squire in 'Egg', which sets events in motion that eventually cast a ripple effect across the world.

Given the series' focus on characters who (mostly) aren't born into families of high status, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will also forego another thing we've seen in other HBO adaptations of Martin's work. That being, it won't have an epic, animated titles sequence with a sweeping score from composer Ramin Djawadi.

"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," Parker revealed "The title sequences on the original [GoT] and House of the Dragon are big, epic and incredible. Ramin’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."

That's not to say we won't meet anyone born into a noble family. Indeed, as the story synopsis notes, the dragon-less Targaryens still sit on the Iron Throne. AKotSK, then, will still feel the lingering impact of the Targaryen Civil War and potentially start to sow the seeds for events to come in GoT.

"They [the Targaryens] find themselves finally without the thing that put them in power, which is such a precarious position to be in," Parker said. "Fifty years on from the dragons, people are starting to ask the question, ‘Well, why are we still letting them be in power?'

"They normally maybe wouldn’t have even bothered with this backwater little town in the middle of the Reach. But, they do because they have to be seen as still in charge."

Will there be more seasons of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?

HBO hasn't announced a second season of AKotSK. However, in January, Martin took to his personal blog to all but confirm that early work would begin on another season at some stage.

Towards the end of a lengthy entry, Martin wrote: "The series will make its debut late this year, I am now told. How late, I could not say. Maybe in the fall. I hope you will love the show as much as I do. Meanwhile, we’ll be moving on to 'The Sworn Sword,' the second tale of 'Dunk & Egg.'"

Considering Martin is far more involved in AKotSK than he is in HotD, that's all the proof we need that this show will get a second season. Until HBO confirms as much, though, we can't definitively say if another entry will see the light of day.

For more Max TV-based coverage, read our guides on Euphoria season 3, House of the Dragon season 3, Creature Commandos season 2, and The Last of Us season 3.