HBO’s next Game of Thrones show isn’t what we expected

Your fiery favourites are back, as HBO ramps up its output from the Seven Kingdoms. Our next Game of Thrones spin-off series is here, and while House of the Dragon redeemed our faith in the IP, the latest announcement isn't what we expected.

While Game of Thrones started out strong, it went down in a blaze of disappointment - which led to fans campaigning for a complete rewrite of Season 8. The Naomi Watts-led Long Night was canned, HotD was back on top form, and there's a Jon Snow sequel series just over the Wall.

What is the new Game of Thrones spin-off?

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Our obsession with those blonde-haired blaggards continues because we're getting another chapter in the Targaryen lineage. Variety has confirmed a third Thrones spin-off is on the way and will be titled, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. It's a bit of a mouthful, but get used to it.

The announcement of a third Thrones spin-off was made to press and investors during a Warner Bros. Discovery presentation on April 12. The revamped HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming service is now known as Max. 

Based on George R.R. Martin's Dunk and Egg novellas, The Hedge Knight will follow Ser Duncan the Tall, who is better known as Dunk, on his travels with a young Aegon V Targaryen (Egg). It takes place around 90 years before the events we see unfold in Game of Thrones.

The official synopsis explains, "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."

Alongside hopes of a Dunk and Egg tale, we've heard about a HotD spin-off focusing on Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), a 10,000 ships series about Princess Nymeria who founded Dorne, and an animated series about the Yi Ti dynasty of Essos.

Where's our Aegon the Conqueror series?

With the announcement of The Hedge Knight, does this debunk those whispers of an Aegon the Conqueror series? Only recently, the internet was alight with word that the next live-action series would see the formation of the Iron Throne.

Supposedly telling the story of how Aegon and sister-wives Visenya and Rhaenys conquered six of the seven kingdoms in Westeros with their dragons, it's one of the most integral parts of George R.R. Martin's lore. 

Variety was the site that broke the news and claimed that an Aegon movie could lead into a series. This was a pretty big deal and led to fans frantically campaigning for Henry Cavill to play the famed warlord.

There has been no update on the Aegon project, and with the new Max announcement, it seems like it would've been the ideal time to announce it. Hopefully, we'll get to see Cavill sit on that pointy chair one way.