Game Of Thrones: Kit Harington's Jon Snow Series Looks Dead After New Update
The ending of "Game of Thrones" remains one of the most notorious fumbles in television history. Even highly controversial conclusions like "The Sopranos" ending and the original "Dexter" series finale never came close to acquiring the ire and wrath "Game of Thrones" Season 8 did. For a time, anger and disappointment toward the show's bizarre and hurried race to the finish line seemed to kill off any interest and investment in the franchise from long-term fans. That is until "House of the Dragon" swooped in 2022 and amazed everyone — literally, everyone. Aside from the critically acclaimed prequel series, HBO appeared to be working on a handful of other "Game of Thrones" spin-off projects, one of them featuring the return of Kit Harington's Jon Snow.
However, according to the actor, such plans may be as burnt as the Iron Throne. During an interview with Screen Rant, Harington touched on how apprehensive he'd been to touch on any details regarding the Jon Snow-led spin-off, not wishing to lead fans one way or another. Overall, it seems uncertainties regarding plot is what shelved the project. "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."
To some of the more stalwart Westerosi fans, this news likely doesn't come as the biggest surprise. After all, the "Game of Thrones" ending didn't leave a lot wiggle room for additional stories to be told, especially for Aeg — we mean, Jon Snow.
For a sequel spin-off, what adventures could Jon Snow possibly go on?
"Game of Thrones" ends with Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) dead, Drogon gone, Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) crowned King of Westeros, while his sister Sansa (Sophie Turner) rules as Queen of an independent North. Meanwhile, their poor brother Jon is forced to rejoin the Night's Watch (which is somehow still a thing) for his "queenslaying".
Now, it doesn't take George R.R. Martin to see how this new Westerosi dynamic doesn't leave much room for another grand Jon Snow tale. It's not possible to tell a worthwhile story of him wanting to suddenly chase his birthright and become king. The character, as he reminded viewers many times, never had any interest in royal authority. However, even if a potential sequel spin-off somehow changed this, and made him fully embrace his Targaryen blood, and made him vie for power — which, again, to be clear, makes no sense – who would he rise up against? His own brother? And what would Sansa do, just let one of her brothers march south against the other?
Pushing that ridiculousness aside, that only leaves the opportunity for a story beyond the wall ... which is destroyed. The Night King is gone, along with his White Walkers. The Wildlings no longer appear to be the powerful marauding force they once were. So, who can Jon Snow come into conflict with in a possible spin-off? Maybe an episodic weekly adventure could work. One episode sees Jon and Ghost go after a nasty Wildling bandit; the next, they tangle with a mysterious woods witch. Or, maybe Jon dedicates himself to finding Drogon and his adventures lead him to Old Valyria and Essos? Overall, Harington is right; the potential plot points for such a project aren't vast.