A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Will Face The Same Problem Game Of Thrones Did

• Television
• Fantasy Shows

Apologies to all the "A Song of Ice and Fire" readers out there still suffering from cases of lingering PTSD, but maybe take this as your cue to find your happy place now. At this point, the ongoing soap opera surrounding author George R.R. Martin and his perpetually-unfinished series of novels (which gave birth to HBO's "Game of Thrones" TV show) is known far and wide. Remember when he proclaimed that he would race against time to publish his next book, "The Winds of Winter," before the series adaptation blew past the timeline of the novels — which happened back in 2016, when season 6 first premiered? Here we are roughly a decade later, and we appear to be no closer to the next installment than we were before.

Well, not to be the bearer of even worse news, but general audiences planning on tuning in to the upcoming "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" might want to prepare themselves for another round of déjà vu. Although the consensus opinion is that "Game of Thrones" fell off a creative cliff in its final season, diehards would argue that this steady decline coincided with the moment showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss ran out of published material to work with. As fate would have it, this new prequel set in the fantasy realm of Westeros is pretty much doomed to experience something awfully similar ... though the circumstances are wildly different.

Indeed, don't take this warning as a reason to skip what looks like a can't-miss adventure starring two of the "Game of Thrones" franchise's unlikeliest heroes. Rather, consider this a primer for casual fans interested in checking out the (very entertaining and well-written) original stories. Curious about how we arrived here? You've come to the right place.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is George R.R. Martin's most unique work yet -- but its development is the same old story

"Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon" fans may be itching for something decidedly different. Enter "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," based on George R.R. Martin's novella collection of the same name and following the (mis)adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey in the adaptation) and his diminutive squire Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell). These short stories, much humbler and funnier than the main "Game of Thrones" storyline by design, are as unique a narrative as any set in Westeros — but the same can't be said for their development history.

Sensing a pattern yet? Martin published his initial story (and basis for the show' first season), "The Hedge Knight," in 1998, followed by the sequels "The Sworn Sword" in 2003 and "The Mystery Knight" in 2010. All three are relatively self-contained and episodic, but the author has gone on record with his hopes to write more ... and to do so while staying ahead of the "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" adaptation. As Martin once wrote in an amusing blog post when "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" was first announced:

"If 'The Hedge Knight' turns out as well as we hope it will, our hope would be to go on and adapt 'The Sworn Sword' and 'The Mystery Knight' as well. That will take a few years. Then comes the hard part. Before we reach the end of the published stories, I will need to find time to write all the other 'Dunk & Egg' novellas that I have planned. There are ... gulp ... more of them than I had once thought."

Sigh. Never change, George. Never change.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms might have a limited lifespan, and that's okay

Are we truly in for a "Game of Thrones" redux with "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," however? Between "A Song of Ice and Fire" (remember, "The Winds of Winter" is only the penultimate book in the series) and "House of the Dragon" (which, yes, is based on another unfinished novel series titled "Fire & Blood"), there's no denying that George R.R. Martin's progress on his famous fantasy universe has slowed to a crawl (to put it mildly).

But there may be reason for optimism. HBO will be taking a biyearly approach to its "Game of Thrones"-related shows, which gives Martin that much more time to get his writing priorities in order. This still won't make for the smoothest path to hitting his (already-overdue) deadlines but, hey, "What's dead may never die" also applies to keeping hope alive, people! Martin seems wryly cognizant of such, as he laid out his formidable plan in his blog post:

"I just need to finish 'The Winds of Winter,' and then do either 'A Dream of Spring' or volume two of 'Fire & Blood,' and slip in a new 'Dunk & Egg' between each of those in my copious spare time ... and that will keep me ahead of [showrunner Ira Parker] and his merry crew ... for a few more years.
"Well, I will worry about that tomorrow. Today, we're celebrating. Dunk & Egg are coming."

But even if none of this comes to pass, three seasons would still feel perfectly satisfying. Granted, it may not reach the ambitious heights of its predecessors, but isn't that precisely the point? Size isn't everything, as Egg would agree. "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" premieres on HBO January 18, 2026.