Knight of the Seven Kingdoms showrunner teases a shocking Game of Thrones cameo

'People are probably gonna kill me'

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms occupies its own distinct place in the Westeros timeline, set roughly 77 years after House of the Dragon and 89 years before Game of Thrones. But despite this vast distance in time between the three shows, there’s still opportunity for Easter eggs and even minor cameos from well-known characters in the upcoming series.

Despite being a self-contained series of novellas, the story of Dunk and Egg already has at least a few obvious connections to George R.R. Martin’s wider Song of Ice and Fire. During the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms panel at New York Comic Con, Martin mused about what characters from his vast world he’d like to see plucked from history and placed into this setting.

“It would be fun to have other great knights from Westerosi history," he said. "I think Jaime Lannister would like to enter tournaments, winning some, fighting some of them. And Tyrion would just bet on them.”

Martin's suggestion might not be possible (Jaime Lannister won't be born for a few more decades after the events of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms), but some Game of Thrones character cameos might actually be possible. After the panel, Polygon caught up with Parker to ask if he already has a laundry list of cameos he’d like to include within his adaptation of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. He answered with an infallible “yes.”

“My favorite is, and look, it's not until the third book, but there's a baby Walder Frey,” Parker says. “I have this, hopefully, really funny idea that people are probably gonna kill me for. But this idea that something's happening, like there's a runaway horse cart, and this baby's about to be killed, and Dunk intervenes and saves baby Walder Frey.”

Walder Frey is the cunning and spiteful Lord of the Twins and ruler of a pivotal crossing point between north and south Westeros. Played by David Bradley on Game of Thrones, he’s notorious for his ambition and lack of honor. He secured his legacy through treachery, most infamously orchestrating the Red Wedding to betray and slaughter House Stark. He’s one of many irredeemable characters from Game of Thrones, so to have the honorable Dunk save the future dishonorable Frey would be a comedic twist of fate.

“We don't ever make a thing of it,” Parker says. “It just happens, and we're on with the story. That's sort of the closest we get to it in the three novels that have been written.”

Although he may have some cameos in mind, what’s important to Parker is maintaining small Easter egg appearances from the books, while bolstering others for the hardcore fans already in the know.

“In the fifth episode, there's a scene where young Dunk is walking along a road, heading back to King's Landing, and it's the same road that Brienne and Pod were on when they were heading off from King's Landing,” Parker says.

Fans have long speculated that Dunk (played by Peter Claffey on the show) is a direct ancestor of Brienne of Tarth (played by Gwendoline Christie on Game of Thrones). George R.R. Martin confirmed the theory in 2016, though we haven’t seen it established in any of the books or HBO adaptations — until now.

Parker isn’t ready to reveal exactly what becomes canon in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, but for fans in the know, the clues will certainly be there.

“It was important to put in little, tiny touches like that,” he says.

Plus, because they filmed the show in Belfast, where parts of Game of Thrones were also shot, made it easy to draw the connection.

“We're there, so we might as well use what they use when it's appropriate.”