Game of Thrones fans are getting their first real taste of the spinoff George R. R. Martin has openly praised — and it looks very different from what audiences might expect. HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has dropped a surprising first look via EW, and the show makes a bold choice right away: it’s actually got colors in it! Yes, no grey skies and misery! Oh, also, there’s no grand opening title sequence.

Instead of the elaborate CG maps and Ramin Djawadi’s sweeping orchestral score that defined Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, this new series begins each episode with a plain old title card in medieval script. According to co-creator Ira Parker, the choice was intentional, reflecting the grounded and unadorned nature of its hero, Ser Duncan the Tall. “That’s not really Dunk’s M.O. He’s plain and he’s simple and he’s to-the-point. He doesn’t have a lot of flash to him,” Parker explained.

Irish actor Peter Claffey takes on the role of Ser Duncan, a self-knighted hedge knight who travels the realm in search of coin and honor. At his side is Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), a determined young boy who insists on becoming his squire. Season 1 adapts Martin’s novella The Hedge Knight, following Dunk and Egg to the Ashford Meadow tourney where they encounter knights, commoners, and the ever-fading remnants of Targaryen power.

Unlike the sprawling palace intrigue of House of the Dragon, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms remains nice and straightforward by focusing the perspectives of common folk, performers, smiths, and wandering knights. Parker promised Martin that the series would never shift focus to kings and lords. “We are starting right at the bottom,” he said. “We’re not with the lords and ladies, the kings and queens.”

What’s ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ About?

Set more than 50 years after the extinction of the last dragon, the show depicts a Westeros in which magic has all but disappeared and the Targaryens are clinging to relevance. “They find themselves finally without the thing that put them in power,” Parker noted, describing their presence at the Ashford tourney as a desperate reminder of authority rather than an indulgence.

For Martin, who has been notably cautious in his support of other Thrones spin-offs, this one seems to be the real deal. In a recent blog post, he wrote, “I just watched it again last week, the latest cuts. It’s looking good, I think. I love it lots, but I’m not one to judge.”

The series will premiere on HBO and HBO Max early next year.

via Collider