HBO's upcoming 2026 Game of Thrones series will differ from the rest of the franchise in two key ways. Next year, fans will head back to the world of Westeros with the release of the hotly anticipated A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The upcoming show marks the third TV series set in George R.R. Martin's beloved fantasy canon, following the mainline Thrones series and House of the Dragon.
While Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will largely look and sound like the rest of the franchise, it will be different in two key ways, as revealed by showrunner Ira Parker. Parker described what to expect in the new series during a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, demonstrating that this may not be the Game of Thrones experience fans are expecting.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will be released on HBO and HBO Max sometime in 2026. The new series will adapt Martin's Tales of Dunk and Egg series of novellas, following Ser Duncan the Tall (played by Peter Claffey), a hedge knight, and his squire Egg during the height of Targaryen rule.
The Two Biggest Differences Coming to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
No Magic or Dragons
While grounded for the most part, two key elements of the Game of Thrones Franchise have been the inclusion of magic and dragons. Sure, these characters are not spell-slinging with the frequency of a Hogwarts student, but more magical/fantastical elements have been key to the Game of Thrones story.
That will all change in the upcoming Knight of the Seven Kingdoms TV spin-off. Showrunner Ira Parker described that this is a "totally different version of this world" where "nobody's thinking about magic:"
"To find a totally different version of this world that everybody seems to know so well was very, very appealing,” he continues. “The fact that we live in this world, though, where magic once existed is very interesting to me. This is the ground and the grass that has seen dragons and dragon fire before. So everything is just like how the world is, but a little stranger, a little different."
She actually compared the show's setting to "14th-century Britain," rather than some far-off fantastical land.
The series takes place more than 50 years after the last dragons died in the Game of Thrones world, removing another fantastical franchise staple for the new streaming series (read more about the best Game of Thrones dragons here).
A Different Perspective for Game of Thrones
In both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, the primary focus has been on the nobility of Westeros. Sure, characters of varying social classes have been included in the franchise so far, but they have been nowhere near the anchor to any of these stories.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms marks a first for the franchise in that sense, as it will center on the lowly general populi of the Game of Thrones world rather than any of its royal families.
Parker confirmed this in her recent Entertainment Weekly interview, calling the series a "hard-nose, grind it out, gritty" medieval story:
"This could basically be 14th century Britain. This is hard nose, grind it out, gritty, medieval knights, cold with a really light, hopeful touch. It's a wonderful place to be. We are ground up in this series, we are starting right at the bottom. We're not with the lords and ladies, the kings and queens."
According to Parker, she promised author George R.R. Martin that this show will never shift to the noble class of the Game of Thrones world.
Instead, the HBO Max series will tell the tale of the down-in-the-dirt knight Ser Duncan the Tall as he interacts with the everyday people living under the rule of these royal families.
