In April, the new Game of Thrones series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight was officially ordered. Now, due to the scriptwriters’ strike, work has been halted until further notice.
In a new blog post, Game of Thrones author George RR Martin explained why he and his colleagues are on strike and explained whether House of the Dragon and his book The Winds of Winter will be affected.
That’s why Game of Thrones creator George RR Martin is on strike
Martin announced in a blog post on Monday that the fantasy offshoot A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is on hold for the time being. It hasn’t been filmed yet, rather a staff of writers was busy developing the scripts. After the Writers Guild of America (WGA) union called the May 2 strike, the writers have stopped work – including George RR Martin.
The strikers are campaigning for fairer pay for streaming projects, safer working conditions and the regulation of the use of artificial intelligence.
In his blog, the writer defended the WGA’s decision: “[…] The producers and studios and TV stations and streaming services gave us no choice.”.
You can find an overview of the background to the strike and the demands in this article:
How long is the strike?
No one yet knows how long the work stoppage will last and when the staff of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will write again. Martin on this:
The 1988 strike lasted 22 weeks […], the longest in Hollywood history. The last strike of 2007-2008 lasted 100 days. This one might take longer. The issues are more important and I have never seen the union so united as it is now.
House of the Dragon season 2 will continue to be filmed anyway
The first offshoot of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, has not yet been affected by the strike.
According to Martin all scripts for season 2 written, revised and finalized before the strike. Filming continues as planned, but without the participation of authors. “There will be no further revisions”, explains Martin. Not a word on the books may be changed during the strike. This also affects showrunner Ryan Condal, who is on site but only works in his producer’s work, as Variety reported.
Martin is working on The Winds of Winter
In the same blog post, Martin reassured his readers that he is continuing to work on the upcoming book The Winds of Winter, the sixth novel in A Song of Ice and Fire, the literary reference for the Game of Thrones series.
The strike only affects film and series projects.
What is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms about?
The official synopsis of the series is as follows:
A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes travel through Westeros: a young, naïve but brave knight – Ser Duncan the Great – and his little squire – Egg. Set in an era when the Targaryens still sit on the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon lingers, great destinies, mighty enemies and perilous adventures await these unlikely and incomparable friends.
As of now, there is no release date for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.