A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms showrunner says it was "probably George R.R. Martin's preference" for the Game of Thrones spin-off to be a 2-hour movie rather than a 6-episode HBO show

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms showrunner has revealed that he thinks Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin would have preferred for Dunk and Egg's story to be told in a movie instead of a TV show.

"I would say it was probably George [R.R. Martin's] preference to do a two-hour movie," Ira Parker said during a roundtable interview (via CBR). "But since HBO came to me with this, they were very amenable to any length or format that we wanted to use."

The show ended up being six episodes long, with each installment clocking in between 30 and 40 minutes. Personally, I think the nature of the story lends itself well to an episodic format – and, at this point, Game of Thrones just feels synonymous with the small screen.

The latest episode, which is the season's penultimate outing, stuck to Game of Thrones tradition by making it the biggest and bloodiest installment yet. Episode 5, titled 'In the Name of the Mother,' saw hedge knight Dunk go head-to-head with Prince Aerion Targaryen in a brutal Trial by Seven, which ended in tragedy for one beloved character.

'In the Name of the Mother' is now one of the highest-rated Game of Thrones episodes ever on IMDb, with only big hitters from the original show like The Rains of Castermere and Battle of the Bastards beating it to the top spot.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms airs weekly on HBO and HBO Max in the US and Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK. Stay up to date with our A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms release schedule, or get up to speed on our verdict with our A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review.