George R.R. Martin explains why the new spinoff was not named ‘Dunk & Egg’

Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin has been building his fantasy world since the ’90s. And it’s ever-growing. And the fandom grows along with it, welcoming new audiences through the shows – Game of Thrones, and its prequel, House of The Dragon. The latest Game of Thrones spinoff to join the list is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, based on Martin’s Dunk & Egg novels.

Why is the new Game of Thrones spinoff not named Dunk & Egg?

Martin explained on his blog, Not A Blog, the title of the upcoming series:

“The working title will be A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. Whether that will be the final title, I can’t say for sure… beyond saying that no, it won’t be called Takes of Dunk & Egg or The Adventures of Dunk & Egg or Dunk & Egg.”

“I love Dunk and I love Egg, and I know that fans refer to my novellas as ‘the Dunk & Egg stories,’ sure, but there are millions of people out there who do not know the stories and the title needs to intrigue them too. If you don’t know the characters, Dunk & Egg sounds like a sitcom. Laverne & Shirley. Abbott & Costello. Beavis & Butthead. So, no. We want ‘knight’ in the title. Knighthood and chivalry are central to the themes of these stories.”

What is ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight’ about?

The new Game of Thrones prequel is based on Martin’s “Dunk and Egg” novel series. The Hedge Knight is the first book of that series, and follows the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall, known as Dunk, and his squire, Aegon V Targaryen, nicknamed Egg. The series takes place some 90 years before the events of the Song of Ice and Fire novels. It begins with the death of a nomadic hedge knight, Ser Arlan of Pennytree. Dunk takes up his armor, equipment, three horses, and the remaining money to win more gold at the town of Ashford. On his journey, Dunk finds a young boy, Egg, and takes him on as his own squire, unaware that Egg is actually a prince of the realm.

Read Next: HBO’s ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight’ Season 1 will have 6 episodes