A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms EP Recalls Shooting Dunk And Egg's First Scene In The Game Of Thrones Prequel: 'No Better Word For It Than Magic' (Exclusive)
Game of Thrones' upcoming prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms takes place 100 years before the events of the original series, in a Westeros where sorcery and dragons are a thing of the past. Which is ironic, given that showrunner Ira Parker tells us that shooting the first scene featuring the series' central pair was "otherworldly."
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is based on George R.R. Martin's Dunk and Egg novellas, which follow a strapping hedge knight named Duncan (or Dunk) and his bald, young squire named Egg. Peter Claffey (Bad Sisters) plays Dunk; Dexter Sol Ansell (ITV's Emerdale) is Egg. The pair's adventures take place during an epoch in which the Targaryens still sit upon the Iron Throne. "Great destinies, powerful foes and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends," the series' official logline promises. (Watch the first trailer here.)
When Dunk and Egg first encounter each other, Parker said, he was struck by watching Claffey and Ansell bring the literary pair to life. "I remember seeing Egg standing outside the stables as Dunk was riding in, and the way that it was lit, he seemed otherworldly," the executive producer told TVLine exclusively at New York Comic Con. "It was like this alien entering. If you haven't read the books, you don't know where their stories are going to take you, but for some reason, you feel that this character is special."
He added: "There's no better word for it than magic... When you see Egg for the first time, there's just a little something in the air, you know?"
We won't spoil anything for those of you who are new to Dunk and Egg's stories, except to say that the new series has a notably lighter tone than Thrones or its first spinoff, House of the Dragon. And while those shows tend to focus on the highborn characters, most of the people you'll meet in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms are more Fleabottom than Red Keep, if you know what we mean.
"What excites and scares me is that I don't give people what they've seen before [in the other series], which is always extremely important," Parker said. "If you're going to do a new entry, you don't want it to be a big cash grab because of the Westeros people love. We want it to feel like it belongs, and that it's needed."
Dunk is a prime example: After the hedge knight whom he squired dies, the young man is left with little except his knight's sword, shield and horses. He "is a very hopeful character — and he maybe has no right to be. He has had a very difficult life," Parker explained. "And through some good, fortunate turns, through just a little bit of doggedness, he's able to keep making it."
He previewed that in times of extreme trial, we'll see Dunk put "one foot in front of the other" and hope that things are going to work out. "That's what we're going to see this season," Parker said, "whether or not that's true."
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres Sunday, Jan. 18, at 10/9c on HBO. — With reporting by Andy Swift
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