HBO’s next return trip to Westeros is shaping up to be a very different kind of ride, and that’s exactly why it’s clicking so well with George R.R. Martin.
As A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms moves closer to its debut, showrunner Ira Parker is opening up about how hands-on Martin has been and which changes from the original novella actually won the author over.
Martin has been vocal in the past when adaptations drift too far from his work, but this time, the collaboration sounds unusually smooth. Parker recently shared that Martin wasn’t just consulted here and there. He was fully embedded in the creative process early on.
“George has been such a wonderful partner in this, I spent a week in Santa Fe with him and some of his favorite writers, and we were just breaking ideas and breaking stories for what season 1 of the show could look like.
“And there were a lot of surprises that came out of there, just some really wonderful ideas, things that George gravitated towards that we were doing, that we were introducing.”
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms adapts Martin’s novella The Hedge Knight, a smaller, more personal story set decades before Game of Thrones.
The series follows Dunk, played by Peter Claffey, a newly minted hedge knight trying to survive on his own after the death of his mentor. Along the way, he picks up a sharp-tongued, secretly important squire named Egg, portrayed by Dexter Sol Ansell, and stumbles into political trouble at a tourney that’s anything but small-scale.
One of Martin’s favorite additions wasn’t a sweeping lore change but a character-focused expansion. Parker revealed that Martin was especially excited about how the show introduces Lyonel Baratheon, the larger-than-life Lord of Storm’s End.
“I think he really loved the idea of the Baratheon tent and meeting Lyonel Baratheon in that capacity, which was wonderful,” Parker said.
Another change that stood out came from the show’s approach to spectacle. While the novella keeps things grounded, the series leans into more ambitious visual storytelling, including an unexpected upgrade in how certain elements are brought to life. Parker explained:
“I think something really cool with the design of our puppetry came out of those meetings, you know, this big, sort of, almost like War Horse-style puppetry, rather than the smaller hand puppets in the novella.
“It’s such a rich creative experience, any time that you get to have him [and] can pull him away from all his other writings, so we got along very well, and he’s only been a benefit to the show.”
That creative trust is notable, especially following Martin’s mixed feelings about changes made elsewhere in the franchise. With A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the focus on character, tone, and intimacy seems to be what’s winning him over.
The series premieres on January 18, and this spin-off is carving out its own lane in the franchise, with Martin right there, enjoying the ride.
