George R. R. Martin didn't want Dunk & Egg series to sound like Beavis & Butt-Head

Don't expect any head banging from Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg on the upcoming Game of Thrones spin-off series.

George R.R. Martin penned a celebratory blog post about HBO's newly-announced Dunk and Egg series, titled A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, and shared that it's unclear if that will be the final title. The author explained the decision to not opt for a Tales of Dunk and Egg title like the novellas in which the series is based, stating that it sounded too much like a sitcom and even citing dimwitted headbangers Beavis & Butt-Head.

"It won't be called Tales of Dunk & Egg or The Adventures of Dunk & Egg or Dunk & Egg or anything along those lines," Martin said. "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," he added. "Laverne & Shirley. Abott & Costello. Beavis & Butt-Head. So, no. We want 'knight' in the title. Knighthood and chivalry are central to the themes of these stories."

Martin added that HBO has greenlit a full season that will most likely consist of six episodes, "though that is not set in stone, and won't be until considerably later in the process," he said. The series — based on Dunk and Egg novellas The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword, and The Mystery Knight — will premiere as an adaptation of the first book, centered on Dunk and Egg's first meeting during a tournament at Ashford Meadow.

The pilot script, written by House of the Dragon scribe Ira Parker, has already been written, "and I think it's terrific," Martin teased. "If The Hedge Knight turns out as well as we hope it will, our hope would be to go on and adapt The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight as well. That will take a few years."

Martin concluded his message by reiterating that "development takes time" and dismissing reports about other abandoned spin-offs. "Way back in the summer of 2016, when HBO first started thinking about Game of Thrones spinoffs, I pitched them two ideas: the Dance of the Dragons, which in due time became House of the Dragon and Dunk & Egg. That was seven years ago. The lesson there is that development takes time. I see all these stories on the net about other spinoffs being killed or abandoned… no idea where they get this stuff… and it just makes me shake my head."

"The Nymeria show is still in development," Martin said. "So is the Sea Snake show. Just had a great week on that one, working with writers. And there are others, both live action and animated. How many will get the greenlight like Dunk and Egg? Impossible to say. How long will it take? It depends. No one knows for sure. . . Westeros and Essos are a lot bigger, with even more stories. We just need time to tell them."

Martin is writing and executive producing The Hedge Knight with Parker. House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal and executive producer Vince Gerardis are also back on board.

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