Dunk and Egg are coming to HBO. The beloved duo will roam the Realm on the second Game of Thrones spinoff. Their names won’t appear in the title, however. Why did the network opt to give a duo A Song of Ice and Fire fans adore their own series but not use their well-known names? Dunk and Egg’s creator George R.R. Martin explained the rational behind that decision with his first official comments on the show. He also provided hope to viewers anticipating spending even more time in the fantasy world he built.
Martin took to his “Not a Blog” to discuss the official news HBO has officially ordered another Westeros prequel series. It will follow Dunk and Egg, a legendary pair whose story has been told in part via three novellas. Originally published in anthologies, Martin released them together in a single book known as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. That’s currently the working (and it seems likely) title of the show, which also has the first novella’s name attached, “The Hedge Knight.”
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight is a mouthful. It’s certainly a lot wordier than simply calling the show “Dunk and Egg.” So why did HBO eschew a title that included their popular moniker? Martin said that was an easy call. Here’s what he wrote:
I love Dunk and I love Egg, and I know that fans refer to my novellas as “the Dunk & Egg stories,” sure, but there are millions of people out there who do not know the stories and the title needs to intrigue them too. If you don’t know the characters, DUNK & EGG sounds like a sitcom. LAVERNE & SHIRLEY. ABBOTT & COSTELLO. BEAVIS & BUTTHEAD. So, no. We want “knight” in the title. Knighthood and chivalry are central to the themes of these stories.
I mean, I LOVE Dunk and Egg, but he’s not wrong about what to call the show. That’s why even though the working title is not guaranteed to be the actual title, we wouldn’t bet against it. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a great name, even if it seemingly only references Ser Duncan the Tall rather than his squire/secret Targaryen prince.
Martin also gave us an idea of how long we’ll get to spend with them during season one. He says right now the plan is for “most likely” six episodes, which will cover his first short story. If that’s a hit we’ll get more of the pair. When we’ll meet them on screen, though, we have no idea. The author says the pilot is written, and work has begun on the rest of the scripts, but that’s a long way from shooting.
Of course, as Martin also pointed out, it took a long time to even get to this point. HBO has been developing “Dunk and Egg” in some form for years since Martin first pitched it as a spinoff possibility in 2016. That’s why he says fans shouldn’t give up on other spinoffs also in development, as “development takes time.” Reports of other projects’ demise are often premature or wrong. That doesn’t mean they’ll make it to air, just that they have a long way to go before they might.
Until they do we can hold of on debating what HBO names them.