Jon Snow Game of Thrones Sequel Show in Development at HBO

Jon Snow The Iron Throne

Well. I don’t think anyone saw this one coming. Alongside the upcoming House of the Dragon (August 21 is around the corner!) and a half dozen other prequels in early development at HBO, it’s now been reported that the first sequel series is now also in development. You read that right: a sequel. A Jon Snow spin-off, of all things!

The news was broken by The Hollywood Reporter, who also confirmed that Kit Harington, who played Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, is set to return for the role if the series moves forward. It’s unclear as of yet how big of an “if” that is.

Of course, this sequel isn’t an absolute certainty, even with Harington on board. Not all the Game of Thrones prequels currently in development are sure to go into production anytime soon, let alone to move forward as series. As you may recall, a pilot was filmed for a Long Night-centric series but it didn’t get picked up, which is how we ended up with House of the Dragon instead. There are several other series in development: one focused on Nymeria Targaryen, with showrunner Amanda Segel; another with House of the Dragon‘s Corlys Velaryon by Bruno Heller; Steve Conrad’s adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s (still unfinished) Dunk and Egg novellas; and several animated series too. All of this is to say: HBO is in the process of developing a ton of Game of Thrones content, but we don’t yet know when any of it will happen, or whether all of it will at all. I would assume a sequel series with one of the original stars has a greater chance to see the light of day than most of these other shows, and sooner rather than later, but who knows!

Jon and Tormund The Iron Throne

The next question is, then, of course, whether a sequel series taking place after Martin’s story and the show’s ending is a good idea at all. We don’t yet know enough to judge, perhaps—will it be a quiet, introspective miniseries taking place wholly north of the Wall, or will it be another Game of Thrones-sized sprawling political epic? Personaly, I’m rooting for the former, as that at least would be a contained story that could feel like an epilogue to the original show (think along the lines of El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie or the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ miniseries), instead of what would essentially amount to a speculative sequel to Game of Thrones. We’ll have to wait and see what it is exactly this Jon Snow sequel series will turn out to be, if it does indeed get produced. Meanwhile, we can only guess and opine. What do you think about this news? Should this show be made? If so, what should it be?

And hey, at worst we should still get to see Tormund again, right? That’s something!

36 Comments

  1. What?

    *blinks*

    Wow. I’ll let this percolate for a bit. My initial reaction was “Argh no why???”, but I can already sense my brain debating the possibilities.

    We would require 150% more Ghost screen time. And a return, somehow, of Karsi.

  2. Yes, please!!!

    Edit: Sorry for the double post, I thought somehow the first one didn’t go through due to language lol

  3. I wasn’t expecting this but sure why not. I like the characters north of the wall and I think there is more to tell about Jon

  4. Love this.

    The GOT finale left me wanting to follow Jon and Ghost north of the wall, AND Arya’s adventures west of Westeros. Now that we hear Jon series is happening, I’d be surprised if we don’t eventually get an Arya series as well.

    The idea that the Jon series is under consideration and might die like the Long Night series is preposterous. As long as Kit is attached this will happen. They might have to change writers or directors but they would be foolish to straight up cancel a project like this.

  5. Weren’t there rumors about this around… GOT season 5? Whatever the case, I would not be surprised if this is being discussed. However, lots of things end up in development. A friend had half-dozen projects in development over about a decade & none of it got made.

  6. Kit is the last person that I expected to go back to GOT. I’ll be surprised if it happens tbh. I thought Arya would be the most obvious choice

  7. Kit Harrington made it quite clear he was done with Jon Snow. Given that he ended up in rehab due to the stress of it all, I am shocked and frankly disbelieving that he would want to revisit that character.

  8. Hell yes, that’s the best idea yet. Kit Harington has been wasted since Game of Thrones ended. He was the most fascinating character. Lots still to explore. I wish George Martin would write it. Also HBO has produced a lot of trash since and needs to have a gripping show. Do it, for goodness sakes.

  9. Hmmm not sure how I feel about this. I thought Jon Snow’s conclusion was perfect and I don’t really see a need for a sequel. I’m happy enough imagining his retirement with Ghost and Tormund.

    Pigeon,
    Definitely. I didn’t get enough of Ghost in the final season. Maybe Kinvara can show up to resurrect Karsi!

  10. I don’t care about the story. More Jon Snow lustrous locks porn please, anytime!

  11. Kathy,

    It might depend what his (KH’s) bank balance is like, Kathy and how many other projects he is being offered. I suppose a lot of actors are feeling the pinch after Covid.

    It COULD work. There were some wildling book characters that never made it into the show who could perhaps be integrated into a sequel (even if given different names). Though there is the saying ‘too much of a good thing’ – with HoD and the other suggested prequels we could be reaching GoT saturation point. Some of the viewers as we know had a rancid feeling after the end of GoT season 8, though I personally didn’t feel the hatred some folk did for it.

  12. My first reaction to this is not enthusiastic. I agree with a lot of what has been said above. I’m all for spin-offs but with no canon material to underpin this I just have a lot of doubts. As much as I’d love GRRM to write this, I’d rather he write TWOW and manage the other projects he has going on. I’m confused as to why Kit would sign on to this if it happens at this stage in his career. I’m just confused all around I guess…

  13. I’ll take it atp. With more Tormund and Ghost of course. Maybe Jon will ditch the Wall yet again and live as Aegon!? (yeah right)

  14. Kathy:
    Kit Harrington made it quite clear he was done with Jon Snow.Given that he ended up in rehab due to the stress of it all, I am shocked and frankly disbelieving that he would want to revisit that character.

    I am absolutely baffled by it. I never thought he’d return to Thrones, never in a million years. For his personal health more than anything. I hope it goes well for him

  15. Myself, I’m not enthused over this. Jaime’s girl articulated exactly my thoughts. I find this pretty confusing.

    Dame of Mercia: It might depend what his (KH’s) bank balance is like, Kathy and how many other projects he is being offered. I suppose a lot of actors are feeling the pinch after Covid.

    Well, I don’t think this is really the case with KH. RL is already pretty well off and, from what I know, they have a quite few projects in the works between them. I don’t think they’re hurting financially.

  16. I unabashedly loved Game of Thrones’ ending, and I particularly loved Jon Snow’s ending – heading back beyond the Wall (to my mind, to stay), haunted by his past actions but hopeful that perhaps his life was now his and his alone to live. As such, I was completely at peace with that being the last we ever saw of him, and letting our imaginations decide his fate from there.

    So the moment I heard this news, my first reaction was shock – I thought if a sequel show was ever announced, it would be further down the line (to quote Tyrion: “Ask me again in ten years”.) But I can’t deny that the more I think about it, the more intrigued I become. There are some powerful ideas that remain to be explored with Jon, even if he never sets foot in the North or the Six Kingdoms again. So while this show may be a long way off (and may never see the light of day at all), I’m in and keen to learn more as the development process continues!

  17. Dark Sister:
    Hmmm not sure how I feel about this. I thought Jon Snow’s conclusion was perfect and I don’t really see a need for a sequel. I’m happy enough imagining his retirement with Ghost and Tormund.

    Pigeon,
    Definitely. I didn’t get enough of Ghost in the final season. Maybe Kinvara can show up to resurrect Karsi!

    That’s how I feel as well. Like now he doesn’t have to worry about all of the politics and trying to appeal to disbelievers. 😄

    Yes to Kinvara though, too!

  18. HBO must have been like most of the rest of the civilized world and hated the final season. This allows them to upend most of what Benioff and Weiss did if they choose. They can retcon anything they want now other than deaths.

    Sounds harsh but I can think of very little other reason why they would want to do a sequel show involving the main character after the events of the finale of the main show. What exactly will Jon be doing? Wandering around with the Wildlings in a now White Walkerless Westeros?

    They definitely going to retcon some of the final season. And GRRM signing off on it says it all.

  19. orange,

    While I don’t really like the idea or feel the need for this sequel at all, there probably is story for stuff beyond the Wall without the need for any retcons vis a vis exploring the wildlings and stories with those characters. Retcons tend to lead to more mess, trouble, and confusion, and I don’t think those are necessary. If this sequel were to go through, I’d hope for more consistency. As far as I remember, the script for the final episode hinted at the return of winter and the need for the Night’s Watch so perhaps that threat (or another one) could return in one form or another.

    This is still in early development and may not even get off the ground. As for GRRM, I don’t know about GRRM signing off on this, this article didn’t speak to any of that.

    Elio Garcia and Linda Antonsson of Westeros.org don’t think GRRM has much to do with this sequel:

    Does this have any implications for Jon’s story in ASoIaF, or ASoIaF in general? Our guess: none at all. This show will be entirely its own thing, licensed fiction in the GoT-universe, and we suspect George’s involvement on the story side will be very minimal.

  20. orange,

    The finale was the most watched episode in HBO history, the season eight Blu Ray topped the sales charts, and GOT dominated at the Emmys, so it’s safe to say that most people enjoyed the final season. You are the minority.

    As for why HBO would sign off on this, that should be rather obvious to anyone who isn’t completely biased. It’s because they feel it will make them money.

  21. I haven’t read all the other comments yet but a few years back, I think some time around end of Season 6 of Game of Thrones there were reports of a Jon Snow spin off. I think that was in the Hollywood reporter, it was quickly denied at the time but makes me think this was in the pipeline for some time.

    I do think it could be good but probably needs to be limited to a mini-series a little like what Disney did with Obi-Wan.

  22. orange:
    HBO must have been like most of the rest of the civilized world and hated the final season. This allows them to upend most of what Benioff and Weiss did if they choose. They can retcon anything they want now other than deaths.

    Sounds harsh but I can think of very little other reason why they would want to do a sequel show involving the main character after the events of the finale of the main show. What exactly will Jon be doing? Wandering around with the Wildlings in a now White Walkerless Westeros?

    They definitely going to retcon some of the final season. And GRRM signing off on it says it all.

    Actually this was in the pipeline around S6, way more likely we see only the far North beyond the wall in any series, certainly no major retcon of the GOT story given we know it come from GRRM.

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