A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms pitched as reset for Game of Thrones

Movieweb reports that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, adapted from George R.R. Martin's The Hedge Knight, is the latest Game of Thrones–era series on HBO and is being positioned as a hard reset for the franchise. The show is set 89 years before Game of Thrones and follows Ser Duncan "Dunk" the Tall and his squire Egg, beginning with a well-attended tournament.

With the review embargo lifted, critics have largely praised the six-episode season; it currently sits at 87 percent on Rotten Tomatoes from 54 critic reviews. Martin has publicly praised the adaptation on his blog, writing, "I’ve seen all six episodes now (the last two in rough cuts, admittedly), and I loved them...

It’s as faithful as adaptation as a reasonable man could hope for (and you all know how incredibly reasonable I am on that particular subject)." The piece also recalls Martin's earlier, since-deleted blog post titled "Beware the Butterflies" and a Hollywood Reporter interview that described friction between Martin and House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal, including Martin calling their relationship "abysmal" and allegedly saying, "This is not my story any longer." The series departs from previous franchise patterns: Season 1 runs six episodes averaging about 30 minutes, leans into levity and smaller-scale storytelling, features relative unknowns in the lead roles, forgoes Ramin Djawadi's score in favor of Dan Romer, and omits the franchise's usual opening-theme sequence.

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Culture, Seven Kingdoms, George R.r. Martin, Dan Romer, Rotten Tomatoes, Hbo