Less than a year after House of the Dragon became one of the biggest shows HBO has ever produced, the studio announced today that they will continue to expand the Game of Thrones franchise in the near future. During the event held today with the intent of promoting HBO Max‘s rebranding into Max, Warner Bros. announced that a new prequel set in Westeros has entered development, titled A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. If you’ve loved any of the projects set within the universe based of George R.R. Martin‘s books, you’ll be in for a treat with this new story. Martin will serve as writer/executive producer, Ira Parker will serve as writer/executive producer, and Ryan Condal and Vince Gerardis will serve as executive producers

The upcoming show will be based on the Dunk and Egg books by the famous author, which tell the tale of Ser Duncan the Tall and a young Aegon V Targaryen. Set around a century before the events of the main series, this show will continue to explore the period of the time when the Targaryens confidently sat on the Iron Throne, and the Seven Kingdoms feared the power of their dragons. Further details regarding what the pair will find on their adventures while wandering around the land haven’t been revealed, but knowing Martin’s work, no one will be safe from the crude reality of Westeros.

Since Game of Thrones gave a new definition to what prestige television meant a decade ago, HBO has been really careful about the next steps they would take in order to take the property to its maximum potential. While the pandemic certainly delayed their plans, they still worked hard to deliver the first season of House of the Dragon, which adapts a different prequel novel from Martin set a century before Ned Stark (Sean Bean) was forced to leave his home to become Hand of the King. The prequel was very successful, giving the network some of its best viewership ratings in years.

You Know Nothing, Jon Snow

While most of these new projects set in Westeros seemed to be completely unrelated to what came before them, there is one particular series in the works that will feature a very familiar face. HBO is currently developing a spin-off focused on Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and his life after the controversial finale of Game of Thrones. After being forced to kill Queen Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), Snow had to live in exile, away from his friends and family while carrying the guilt of ending the life of the person he fell in love with. It remains to be seen which one of these series begins filming first.

While you wait for the second season of House of the Dragon to premiere on HBO at a later date, you can check out the official trailer for the first installment below:

You can read the official logline for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight below.

“A century before the events of ‘Game of Thrones,’ two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.”

via Collider