‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel ‘Tales of Dunk and Egg’ in Early Development at HBO (EXCLUSIVE)

Tales of Dunk and Egg HBO
Courtesy of Dabel Brothers Productions

A series adaptation of “Tales of Dunk and Egg,” a prequel to the events of “Game of Thrones,” is in early development at HBOVariety has learned exclusively from sources.

The one-hour show would be based on the series of fantasy novellas by George R. R. Martin, which follow the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall (Dunk) and a young Aegon V Targaryen (Egg) 90 years prior to the events of “A Song of Ice and Fire.”

Martin has published three novellas in the “Tales of Dunk and Egg” series to date: “The Hedge Knight” in 1998, “The Sworn Sword” in 2003, and “The Mystery Knight” in 2010. The three novellas were then collected and published together as “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” in 2015.

No writer or talent is currently attached to the project, but sources say it is a high priority for HBO as the premium cabler looks to build on the success of “Game of Thrones.”

Reps for HBO and Martin declined to comment.

Should the project go to series, it would be the second “Game of Thrones” prequel to make it to screen. The network is currently prepping the series “House of the Dragon,” which is slated to debut in 2022. That show will document the buildup to the Targaryen civil war in Westeros that is known as the Dance of Dragons.

Fans have been calling for a “Tales of Dunk and Egg” TV series for some time now. There were hopes that when HBO announced a number of “Game of Thrones” spinoffs were in the works back in 2017 that the novellas would be among the contenders for a series pick up, but Martin later said that there were no plans to adapt the books at that time.

Of course, just because the series is in development does not necessarily mean it will move forward. Another “Game of Thrones” prequel written by Jane Goldman and starring Naomi Watts went to pilot at HBO but was ultimately passed over in 2019.