“Game of Thrones” Returns With “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” Trailer

“I was squired to Sir Arlan of Pennytree,” says Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) in the opening seconds of the first trailer for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a new Game of Thrones spinoff coming to HBO. “He charged me to be a good knight, to defend the weak and the innocent, and I swore that I would.”

It only takes a mere twenty seconds or so to catch a name Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon fans are very familiar with—Targaryen—when a young man asks Ser Dunance whether he’s Baelor Targaryen (Bertie Carvel). He’s not, so he’s told, in more colorful language than we’ll repeat here, to move out of the way.

Ser Duncan soon meets Egg (Exter Sol Ansell), a young squire with nary a hair on his head (hence the nickname) who will soon join Ser Duncan as they wander a Westeros a century before the events in Game of Thrones. The new series is set during the Targaryens’ reign on the Iron Throne, but after the last of their dragons have gone.

Ser Duncan is a good soul, but naive, and we all know how quickly naivete will get you killed in Westeros. With the clever Egg at his side, however, the two unlikely friends might just find their way yet. The series is based on George R.R. Martin’s novellas “Tales of Dunk and Egg,” and along with Claffey, Carvel, and Ansell, the series stars Daniel Ings as Ser Lyonel Baratheon, Danny Webb as Ser Arlan of Pennytree, Sam Spruell as Maekar Targaryen, Shaun Thomas as Raymun Fossoway, Finn Bennett as Aerion Targaryen, Edward Ashley as Ser Steffon Fossoway, Tanzyn Crawford as Tanselle, Henry Ashton as Daeron Targaryen, Youssef Kerkour as Steely Pate, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Plummer and Daniel Monks as Ser Manfred Dondarrion.

Martin serves as co-creator and executive producer, alongside showrunner and executive producer Ira Parker. The directors are Owen Harris and Sarah Adina Smith. Unlike Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will feature half-hour episodes, six in all.

Check out the trailer below. A Knight of the Seven Kindgoms premieres on January 18.

Featured image: Peter Claffey. Photograph by Steffan Hill/HBO