Is Game Of Thrones: The Mad King Canon To The Show or Books?

As House of the Dragon gears up to head into its third season, another Game of Thrones project is gearing up to present itself to the audience. The Mad King, a stage play, is all set up to take the stage, to be performed at the Royal Shakespeare Company. The Game of Thrones prequel is set about seventeen years before the events of the show begin, about five years before Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon marched on King’s Landing to avenge the atrocities committed by the Targaryen Dynasty.

Now, there are a lot of things muddled about which continuity the play is going to follow. The title Game of Thrones suggests that it is going to focus on the show, but the writer has said that he focused directly on George R.R. Martin‘s notes (via Deadline), which were more relevant to the books, as opposed to the show. Given that there are some major inconsistencies in the canon that the show follows when compared to the books, the historical references that the play makes could be indicative of which continuity it wants to follow- or if its making one of the its own.

Which Continuity Does Game of Thrones: The Mad King Follow?

The continuities that the show and the books have diverge from each other long before the main events of the story. While there are characters cut from the television adaptations, and the stories streamlined for the sake of having a manageable runtime, entire histories have been erased, given that the continuity of the books has developed in parallel to that of the show. For example. Aerys Targaryen, the titular Mad King in question, is the grandson of Aegon V (Egg from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms) in the books, but his son in the show.

While the name might be misleading, the ‘about the play’ section on the RSC website very clearly says that the play is an adaptation of the books written by George R.R. Martin. However, the BBC reports that it would be in conjunction with HBO, which suggests that it might stick closer to the show’s continuity of events. Once the play has been performed at least once in front of the public, there will be a clearer picture as to where the story draws its inspiration from.

Who All Can Fans Expect To See In Game of Thrones: The Mad King?

The plot of Game of Thrones: The Mad King deals with the Tourney at Harrenhal, which was conducted during the false spring that thawed Westeros briefly in 282 AC. The Mad King, still alive but mentally scarred by his imprisonment at Duskendale, had a growing paranoia that his court was out to get him. Further, this tournament, fondly remembered as a slew of characters from A Song of Ice and Fire, saw a slew of the main cast interact with each other in a peaceful setting, before the flashpoint that became the kidnapping of Lyanna Stark and Robert’s Rebellion.

According to the Royal Shakespeare Company’s official website, characters like Robert Baratheon, Eddard Stark, Tywin Lannister, Catelyn Tully, Oberyn Martell, Howland Reed, and Jaime Lannister are all slated to be part of the play. Key characters like the Targaryen monarchs of the day and their households are also going to be part of the story.

Which continuity do you think The Mad King will follow? Let us know in the comments!

The opening night for Game of Thrones: The Mad King is currently set to be 8th August, 2026.