It used to be so easy to develop spinoffs of beloved shows. Something likeGame of Throneswould have spawned a dozen failed follow-ups before its final season hit. The tried and true method involved giving solo stories to beloved characters. Unfortunately,Game of Thronesdidn’t set itself up for that possibility. With everything set against it, HBO wisely shelved their Jon Snow spinoff series.
Jon Snow remainsa fan-favorite character inGame of Thrones. A more traditional story would treat him as the chosen one. He’s a determined underdog, facing impossible odds to find out who he truly is. He finds greatness within him, defeats powerful foes, and keeps his moral compass relatively intact. Snow is a saint next to most of the cast. Unfortunately, his character appears in a new context without the sprawling world around him.
Kit Harrington Confirms Jon Snow Spinoff is Canceled
Kit Harrington was set to reprise his role as Jon Snow in a spinoff series tentatively titledSnow. George R. R. Martin mentioned the project in 2022, stating that Harrington dreamed up the idea. Unfortunately, after years of development, HBO shelvedSnow. Harrington spoke toScreen Ranton a press tour for his upcoming crime thriller,Blood for Dust. Asked aboutSnow, he sadly explained that the spinoff is no longer in development. Harrington had this to say:
Currently, it’s off the table, because we all couldn’t find the right story to tell that we were all excited about enough. So, we decided to lay down tools with it for the time being.
Though Harrington mentioned the theoretical possibility of attemptingSnowagain at a later date, it seems well and truly dead for now. While the show’s passing may come as a blow tofans of Jon Snow, it’s hard to imagine a version of this show that doesn’t struggle with its place in the franchise.
The OtherGame of ThronesSpinoffs Have a Better Shot
House of the DragonsavedGame of Thronesas a franchise. Most fans were loath to watch anything attached to the branding, but the prequel drew attention back to Westeros.HBO has several other potential prequels, some of which are already canceled, while others remain in apparent limbo. Here’s a short list of some of the pitched ideas:
While not all of those shows will ever see the light of day, they have one element in common. Every other proposedGame of Thronesspinoff is a prequel.
The Jon Snow Series Could Never Survive Game of Thrones Season Eight
Whatever its merits,Snowwould have had to deal with season eight ofGame of Thrones. That poison pill guaranteed the failure of the spinoff. Fans hated theending ofGame of Thrones. Its gradual decline and swift plummet in quality caused the sudden death of an otherwise untouchable phenomenon. HBO cannot return to the present or move into the future of Westeros without contending with the choicesD. B. Weiss and David Benioffmade. The rushed ending killed any opportunity to explore new avenues. Fans don’t trust HBO to work without source material, guaranteeing a nasty fate for Jon Snow’s standalone series.
The Jon Snow show could have been a fun new horizon. It could have pushed the conversation forward and perhaps even fixed elements of the original finale. However, returning to that territory risked creating a show that added nothing to the franchise. HBO made the right decision withHouse of the Dragon. They needed to prove that they could still do the complex storytelling and brilliant character work that madeGame of Thronespopular. They also needed to distance themselves from the franchise’s ruined elements. Their other options deserve a chance to shine.Snowmay have fallen, but it’s likely better that way.
