Why A Game Of Thrones Sequel Will Never Happen

We know you want it, but no matter how many petitions you throw at HBO, D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, or even George R. R. Martin himself, it's unlikely that we will ever see a sequel series to Game of Thrones. The people behind the series have long known that the end was coming — and that when it did, it would be final.

Eight seasons may not seem like long enough with our favorite characters, but the television adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire has finished. After becoming emotionally entangled in the story and invested in the characters, it's hard to move on, but the producers, writers, and actors have already turned their attention away from Westeros and toward new projects. Still, for those unable to let go, here's a look at some of the many reasons why the last thing we'll ever hear Tyrion say is that weird thing about the donkey and the honeycomb.

George R.R. Martin's books inspired the Game of Thrones TV series, but the most recent installment was published in 2011. A Dance with Dragons contains the events depicted in season five of the television adaptation (Cersei's long walk through King's Landing, Dany getting snatched up by the Dothraki, and Winterfell being tainted by the Boltons.) The showrunners had to go off book from then on with input from Martin, who has been writing the next book, The Winds of Winter, at a hobbled snail's pace. He walked them through some twists and turns he'd been planning, and where he intended on leaving the characters he'd brought to life in the finale.

According to Martin, the ending that HBO gave us won't be very different than the one he's working toward in the final book A Dream of Spring, so even if our wildest dreams come true and the last books of the series are published, there wouldn't be any source material for a television adaptation. There's no more story of the Starks beyond where we left them: Arya going to the great unknown, Jon at the Wall, Sansa as Queen in the North, and Bran as King of the Six Kingdoms. Exactly how Martin's version plays out remains to be seen, but we're willing to wager that A Dream of Spring won't diverge much from season 8. There's no need for a sequel series.

George R.R. Martin is supposed to be working diligently on The Winds of Winter, but he's also found time to publish several books plotting out hundreds of years of Westerosi history. There is a wealth of material set in the past, rather than the future.

Tantalizingly, he wrote in his blog, "We have had five different Game of Thrones successor shows in development (I mislike the term "spinoffs") at HBO, and three of them are still moving forward nicely. The one I am not supposed to call The Long Night will be shooting later this year, and two other shows remain in the script stage, but are edging closer. What are they about? I cannot say. But maybe some of you should pick up a copy of Fire & Blood and come up with your own theories."

An unnamed prequel "taking place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones... chronicles the world's descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour" — and it already has a star-studded cast and is set to start filming a pilot sometime in 2019. There's little word on the other projects, but Martin has made us wonder... does one of the prequels depict the Targaryen family history described in Fire & Blood?

Even the actors who poured their souls into the final season sometimes seemed as if they found it... lacking. There have been a number of awkward interviews with the cast, their reactions to the final script ranging from confused to teary. For many, the past eight years of their lives has been nothing but Game of Thrones. Sophie Turner, who played Sansa Stark, got a commemorative direwolf tattoo, much like Emilia Clarke's own trio of dragons. The cast have said their goodbyes to Westeros in their own ways. Many are ready to move on to new roles — maybe less demanding ones. It's no secret that Game of Thrones was a tough show to film, with high pressure and long hours. Kit Harrington had a hard time dealing with the fame, and has said that he's ready to be less recognizably "Jon Snow."

Going to miss their familiar faces? You can always catch Sophie Turner playing Jean Grey in the final X-Men film. Maisie Williams is also joining the X-Men universe in New Mutants. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau took a role as a detective in a world of "polar bears and weird suicides." Jacob Anderson is going by Raleigh Ritchie rather than Grey Worm and producing some sweet, sad music. Emilia Clarke is stretching her acting chops and doing both thrillers and rom-coms, and Peter Dinklage is doing some animated movies, starring in films that his kids can actually be allowed to watch.

As the final credits roll on Game of Thrones, a new era begins. High fantasy has proven itself as a fantastic candidate for fantastic television, so HBO and the BBC have teamed up on another expensive, expansive fantasy show based on a beloved book series: His Dark Materials. Political struggles? Check. Mysterious powers? Check. CGI animals? Check. It isn't a Game of Thrones sequel, but it may still satisfy some of the same viewers who tuned in to Thrones.

His Dark Materials takes place in an alternate England that has all the charm of the Victorian era with the added bonus of daemons, companion creatures with human intelligence, as well as witches and angels and ghosts. Add in A-list actors like James McAvoy and Lin-Manuel Miranda and we're more than just sold — we're looking forward to the premiere later in 2019. Plus, if you're tired of lands of fantasy, there are a bevy of other shows that HBO has cooking. Westworld has another season on the way, for those of the sci-fi loving persuasion. Graphic novel fans can rejoice in the upcoming premiere of the Watchmen adaptation. Jordan Peele and JJ Abrams are producing Lovecraft Country, a horror drama that will surely be a hit. Even now that Thrones is done, there are plenty of shows on the way that will make your HBO subscription worth it.

Welcome to an new era in which Dungeons & Dragons is in vogue, Renaissance faires are enjoying a renaissance, and every production company wants a piece of the high fantasy pie. Game of Thrones has changed television as we know it. No longer is it satisfactory for shows to be small, with niche dedicated followings. Every show wants to be a blockbuster, and in the coming years, there will be no limit to the number of titles seeking to fill the void that the end of Game of Thrones has left in our hearts.

His Dark Materials is far from the only book adaptation on the table. Netflix is launching a series based on The Witcher. There's also the ambitious Lord of the Rings prequel series that Amazon has reportedly paid close to $250 million for. There is no shortage of fantasy media in the works: Netflix is also planning a live-action version worthy of the beloved animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender and Disney is bringing Star Wars to the small screen in the upcoming The Mandalorian series. Every major company is trying to replicate the GoT success, and even though some of these attempts are bound to fail, viewers still stand to benefit.