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George R.R. Martin has weighed in on the newest ‘Game of Thrones’ spin-off

The author also hinted that the series might drop in the fall.

By Joe Allen Jan 29, 2025 1:24 PM

Peter Claffey in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms — Max

George R.R. Martin has a famously testy relationship with the shows that adapt his work. The Game of Thrones writer has been unafraid to call out various issues he’s noticed both in House of the Dragon and the original Game of Thrones series (even as he continues to not release another novel).

In a new blog post, though, Martin revealed that he has seen all six episodes of the new Game of Thrones spin-off A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and he’s over the moon about it.

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“Dunk and Egg have always been favorites of mine, and the actors we found to portray them are just incredible,” he wrote. “The rest of the cast are terrific as well. Wait until you guys meet the Laughing Storm. and Tanselle Too-Tall.”

Adapted from The Hedge Knight, a novella that is set in between the events of Game of Thrones and the events of House of the Dragon, the series follows Aegon Targaryen as he serves as squire to a legendary knight. Together, the two of them go on all sorts of merry adventures that are much less serialized than his sprawling novels.

“Viewers who are looking for action, and more action, and only action… well, this one may not satisfy you,” Martin adds. “There’s a huge fight scene here, as exciting as anyone could ask for, but there are no dragons this time around, no huge battles, no white walkers… this is a character piece, and its focus is on duty and honor, on chivalry and all it means.”

He even offered a tease as to when we might get to see it.

“The series will make its debut late this year, I am now told. How late, I could not say. Maybe in the fall,” he writes. “I hope you will love the show as much as I do.”

Joe Allen is a freelance writer at Digital Trends, where he covers Movies and TV. He frequently writes streaming… Read Full Bio

We’re only a few months away from our new Bond, Producer Amy Pascal teases

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Since Daniel Craig bit the big one in his James Bond swan song in 2021’s No Time to Die, fans have been waiting to find out who the next person to drink the martini shaken instead of stirred will be. In true Bond fandom fashion, a whole slew of fancasts have started to muddle the waters as to who could possibly be the new 007. Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and more have all been pitched as possible replacements. Some more ethnically diverse options like Henry Golding and Rene Jean-Page have also emerged. But, alas, no word has come down from on high to give us the scratch to this fan itch raging on for the last five years. That is, until Producer Amy Pascal sat down during her Spider-Man: Brand New Day press tour and gave a bit of insight on when we can expect an announcement, and also what we can expect in the cast.

I would say the end of the year is a good bet. We are being really, really methodical. – Amy Pascal

Elevate your elegance: Choosing your first cigar

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Earlier this year, I was strolling the streets of New York and ended up sitting in the Carnegie Club with an Old Fashioned in one hand and a cigar in the other while My Way by Frank Sinatra played from a speaker flanking leather-bound books behind the couch I had been using as my perch. It was my first cigar, but it led to a slight obsession that recently found me on the back deck of a lodge in Kenya, staring at Mount Kilimanjaro and smoking a stick while giraffes meandered by. Admittedly, there has been no intention in my budding hobby; I am aimlessly choosing the cigars that look good (the ones that look like those smoked by Arnold or Stallone in the movies, obviously). But I have decided to approach these in a new way, with a little help from my friends over at La Aurora, who graciously decided to navigate my ignorance with some info compiled by Brand Manager John Gaglio, with input from Master Blender Manuel Ynoa, CEO Ed McKenna, and Brand Manager Elvis Batista.

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FIFA’s Gianni Infantino Is Uglifying the Beautiful Game With $20 Billion Plot — But the Global Soccer Community’s Punching Back

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For the better part of two decades, perhaps even more, corruption has allegedly run rampant within FIFA. Sepp Blatter, in particular, became the face of alleged extortion schemes, and he operated with impunity while at the helm of the organization for 17 years, from 1998 until his forced resignation in 2015 amid an FBI corruption probe. He’s banned for life from all football-related FIFA activities. If you’re new to the organization’s alleged deep connection to corruption, Netflix offers a brilliant 2022 documentary, FIFA Uncovered. In that documentary, Gianni Infantino appears in his previous capacity as Secretary General of UEFA (2009-2016) and later as the newly elected FIFA president, who vowed to root out corruption and hand the beautiful game back to the people where it belongs.

That, as it turns out, was all wishful thinking.