Summary
OneGame of Thronesactor confirmed the developing spinoff for their character is officially scrapped, explaining why the creative team behind the project couldn’t make it work.
Game of Throneswas one of the most acclaimed and watched shows during its heyday. However, the final two seasons were widely regarded as rushed, culminating with a divisive series finale panned by many viewers. Nonetheless, the franchise was still popular enough for HBO to develop multiple spinoffs, including aGame of Thronessequel with Kit Harington’s Jon Snow. The series would follow Jon Snow after theGame of Thronesseries finale, which ended with the character joining the Wildlings beyond the wall after being exiled to appease the followers of Daenerys Targaryen, whom Jon Snow killed because she burned down King’s Landing to claim the Iron Throne.
However, theGame of ThronesJon Snow sequel’s futurewas in doubt after an HBO executive said they were unsure if they could make the project work in 2023. During an interview withScreen Rantto promoteBlood for Dust, Harington saidthe Jon Snow sequel was only in developmentand he was hesitant to talk about it in case it didn’t move forward.Harington then confirmed theGame of Thronessequel was no longer in developmentbecause the creative team couldn’t find a worthwhile story, though he suggested the project could be revisited.
I hadn’t really ever spoken about it, because it was in development. I didn’t want it leaked out that it was being developed, and I didn’t want the thing to happen where people kind of start theorizing, getting either excited about it or hating the idea of it, when it may never happen. Because in development, you look at every angle, and you see whether it’s worth it.
And currently, it’s not. 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. There may be a time in the future where we return to it, but at the moment, no. It’s firmly on the shelf.
The Jon Snow sequel is not the onlycanceledGame of Thronesspinoff. In 2022, two projects titledSea Snake/Nine VoyagesandTen Thousand Shipswere removed from the “in development” tab on the website for Startling, Inc., which producedGame of ThronesandHouse of the Dragon. A pilot for a prequel series titledBloodmoonstarring Naomi Watts was in post-production in September 2019. The series would have been set roughly 10,000 years beforeGame of Thronesduring a period known as the Age of Heroes. However, HBO decided against moving forward with the series.
Still,HBO is not without alternateGame of Thronesspinoff options. While theNine Voyagesproject may be scrapped as a live-action show, franchise creator George RR Martin recently revealed it was now being developed as one of many potentialanimatedGame of Thronesspinoffs. HBO is also developing a prequel series centered on Aegon Targaryen’s famed conquest of Westeros, and the network orderedA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight(a prequel show based on Martin’s novella seriesTales of Dunk and Egg) to series.
It’s unsurprising for HBO to go all in on theGame of Thronesfranchise. While theGame of Thronesseries finale is one of the more infamous TV show endings,House of the Dragondrew in millions of viewerseach week, arguably demonstrating that fans were willing to stick with the franchise despite the original show’s underwhelming conclusion. Unfortunately for fans hoping the Jon Snow sequel would make up for theGame of Thronesseries finale, it appears the White Wolf won’t be the savior they were looking for, at least for now.
Game of Thronesis available on Max andBlood for Dustwill be released in theaters and on digital on April 19th, 2024.
Game of Thrones
Based on the Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R.R. Martin, Game of Thrones tells the sprawling story of warring families in Westeros. This includes the Starks, the Lannisters, the Baratheons, and the Targaryens. Along with human conflicts, Westeros is threatened by the re-emergence of dragons and an undead enemy from beyond the Wall.
