10 Movies to Watch if You Love A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

If you've watched either of the first two episodes of HBO's newest Game of Thrones spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, there's a good chance you're already falling in love with the story of Ser Duncan the Tall. The series has been a quick hit for HBO and takes place within the iconic world of Westeros, but it took no time at all for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms to set itself apart from its GoT predecessors. While characters from known houses like the Targaryens and Baratheons are integral to the show, this tale occupies a completely different space than Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon. It's much smaller in scope than those other shows, and the stakes feel a lot lower (though they're still massively important to the show's own plot).

You get some fantasy elements from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, but the warring dragons and impending winter monsters are nowhere to be found. Rather than focusing on the grander politics of Westeros, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is just about a single hedge knight trying to make a difference in the unforgiving world around him. That smaller, more intimate vision creates a wildly different tone, setting it apart from most other fantasy shows and movies. It scratches a very specific itch that many properties in the genre don't, but there are a handful of movies that check at least a few of the same boxes. So if you're loving A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms but have had your fill of Game of Thrones, here are some great movies worth putting on.

10 'A Knight's Tale' (2001)

This is the movie that inspired this list in the first place, and it's a must-watch for anyone enjoying A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. From the very beginning of the series, it felt like this new spin-off had a lot more in common with A Knight's Tale than Game of Thrones. There's a compelling lead character from humble beginnings, desperately wanting to become a knight and make a difference to those around him. There's a tournament in town where he pulls strings to find a way to compete. He discovers a found family of misfits that aid him in his quest. Like A Knight's Tale, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is also shockingly hilarious, delivering full-on belly laughs and gross humor when you least expect them.

HBO's new show has some mature elements and violence you won't find in A Knight's Tale, but the similarities in tone are still too much to ignore. These two titles go hand-in-hand, and they should be treated like the complimentary stories they are.

9 'The Mask of Zorro' (1998)

While Martin Campbell's 1998 action hit has far more swashbuckling to it than A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, both tales feature a protagonist that is easy to root for, relatively focused stories, and period settings that instantly transport you to another time and place.

Ser Duncan is out to prove his worth as a knight. In The Mask of Zorro, Antonio Banderas' Alejandro seeks revenge for the death of his brother. Both are men who started with little and became incredible warriors in their own right. They both sought to challenge the status quo and ultimately put power back into the hands of common folk. Different time periods and very different styles, but these guys have a lot more in common than you'd think.

8 'The 13th Warrior' (1999)

Since we're already on the subject of Antonio Banderas movies from the 1990s, let's just move on to another one of the star's action vehicles from the decade: The 13th Warrior. From Die Hard director John McTiernan (and based on a book by Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton), The 13th Warrior sees Banderas star as a man who is sent far from his home and accidentally injected into a Viking war.

So much of this film focuses on a single, honorable man who is trying to make it in a world he largely doesn't understand. You could argue Duncan fits that bill as well, having grown up as the squire of a hedge knight. When mingling around with members of House Targaryen or House Baratheon, Duncan is out of his depth, and he needs to adapt quickly in order to take part in this world he has suddenly found himself a part of.

7 'The Kid Who Would Be King' (2019)

The easy connection to make between A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and The Kid Who Would Be King would be the excellent child performances as the center of both. Even in just a couple of episodes, Dexter Sol Ansell has set himself up as an impeccable talent, with plenty of room to get even better as time goes on. The same can be said for the entire cast of The Kid Who Would Be King (especially Louis Ashbourne Serkis), who give fantastic new life to a story we've seen in film countless times.

On a slightly deeper level, both A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and The Kid Who Would Be King excel in being the kind of accessible fantasy we don't see too often. Now, the latter is aimed at a younger audience than the former, but both are simple, easy-to-follow tales set in fantastic worlds. Think about how dense and complex something like Game of Thrones or The Lord of the Rings can be. It's hard to get new fans invested those kind of stories, but Seven Kingdoms and The Kid Who Would Be King offer easier entry points for viewers who want something a little more casual — without any kind of dip in quality.

6 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' (1975)

Game of Thrones always had its fair share of comedic moments, but it was never the type of show you'd think of as "funny." A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, on the other hand, is outright hilarious. While it's not necessarily a comedy series first, it takes several opportunities in its first couple episodes to deliver hysterical sight-gags and great one-liners to get viewers chuckling.

When it comes to mixing fantasy with comedy, nobody did it better than the men of Monty Python more than 50 years ago. Monty Python and the Holy Grail isn't just the best fantasy-comedy hybrid to ever hit theaters, it is straight up one of the funniest movies ever made. It doesn't have the emotional core that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms does, but it's easy to see how some of the humor in HBO's new hit series (especially in the flashbacks) comes from Monty Python.

5 'Gladiator' (2000)

There hasn't been a ton of fighting in the first couple episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, but we know that Ser Duncan is going to be tested by the end of the season. He's trying to enlist in a tournament, after all, and that will come with some brutally physical bouts where his "talents" as a knight and warrior are on full display.

There is no greater story of a warrior on display than Ridley Scott's Gladiator. Russell Crowe gave an Academy Award-winning performance as Maximus, a former soldier disguised as an outsider returning to seek revenge by competing as a gladiator on the biggest stage in Rome. Duncan has different aspirations, but he's taking a similar approach to try and prove himself.

4 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' (1938)

At nearly 90 years old, The Adventures of Robin Hood is still such a fun watch. That's due in part to the timeless nature of its adventure, but also because of the impactful, human performance of Errol Flynn. His Robin Hood is such an easy character to connect to, and Ser Duncan shares similar qualities.

Their worlds are vastly different, and technology has obviously changed dramatically in the time between these two properties, but it's hard to watch Robin Hood and Ser Duncan and not feel like they are cut from the same cloth. You could theoretically sub in other iterations of Robin Hood here, but Errol Flynn remains the most memorable live-action portrayal of the hero.

3 'Onward' (2020)

Pixar's Onward got overlooked upon its release because it hit theaters right at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it's low-key one of the most memorable fantasy adventures to hit the big screen in the 2020s. The film blends fantasy elements with the modern world and technology as two brothers go on a quest to find an artifact of ancient magic and resurrect their late father.

This is a pure two-hander, focusing on brothers Ian (Tom Holland) and Barley (Chris Pratt) as they learn to work as a cohesive unit. There's a lot of Duncan and Egg to this pair — though they aren't blood relatives like the Onward brothers. The film also exists at this interesting crossroads of fantasy and reality, where magic is largely a thing of the past. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set at a point in the history of Westeros when there weren't any dragons in existence — a moment where the mystic elements of fantasy felt like a relic in their "modern" world.

2 'The Princess Bride' (1987)

There is quite literally never a bad time to watch The Princess Bride, which many would argue is the best fantasy adventure ever put to film. The late, great Rob Reiner crafted a film that has never felt dated or out of touch at any point over the last four decades, and there is no reason to think that will change going forward.

Sure, it's a comedy, but what makes The Princess Bride such a lasting endeavor is the enormous heart and thirst for wonder at the center of its storytelling. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has that in spades, mainly with Duncan as a character. He is an honorable man who genuinely believes in the good of the world around him, despite how many rough years he has experienced. He's a man after Westley's own heart.

1 'Shrek' (2001)

After spending most of his life on his own, a hero reluctantly takes on a wise-beyond-his-years companion and heads off to a tournament to compete in front of a problematic ruler and hopefully change his fortune for the better. Is this the story of Der Duncan the Tall, or Shrek of the Swamp?

Yes, this is a bit ridiculous, and the comparisons are merely surface-level, but it's hilarious that these two stories share any DNA at all. Both also have some excellent toilet humor to offer, especially when viewers are least expecting it.