HBO is hoping to get the wolves of the North back together.
The network is in “very early development” on reviving the formerly shelved Jon Snow-led Game of Thrones sequel series, according to The Hollywood Reporter — albeit with a few tweaks from the original pitch by star Kit Harington.
In a new profile of A Song of Ice and Fire creator George R.R. Martin published Thursday, a year after Harington revealed that the sequel series idea had been scrapped, the trade reports that HBO is fleshing out the idea with writer Quoc Dang Tran (Drops of God) on board.
While the project is still in the early stages, THR says that the story may shift from Jon’s life beyond the borders of the North and to the Mediterranean-like land of Essos. Another addition to the story will reportedly be Jon’s favorite cousin, Arya Stark, who was played by Maisie Williams on Game of Thrones.
Helen Sloan/HBO
“We are very interested and excited by the prospect of a sequel but also keenly aware of how high the bar of execution needs to be,” a source told THR.
Reps for HBO, Martin, and Tran did not immediately respond when contacted by Entertainment Weekly for comment.
Reports came out in June 2022 that a sequel series focused on Jon was in the very early stages of development, which was later confirmed by Martin. “It was Kit Harrington [sic] who brought the idea to us,” Martin wrote in a blog entry at the time.
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In April 2024, Harington confirmed to EW that the idea had been shelved after he and the network “bounced some ideas around and nothing really lit us up.”
“I think we don’t want to do something that’s not worth it. So for the time being, we’re just shelving it,” the Eternals star explained. “I would never have said yes to the idea of developing something with Jon Snow if I didn’t think there was something interesting there, and there could have been. But HBO cares about the character a lot and I care about the character a lot, and we don’t want to put out something that is going to sully the character. That’s the worst thing that we could possibly do.”
He added, “So unless we find something in the future that really lands, there’s no point in rushing it. There’s no point in keeping developing for development’s sake and doing something that I don’t want to do.”
Helen Sloan/HBO
According to THR, Harington had pushed for a dark take on the series that saw the secret son of the late Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen living alone “as a broken man with PTSD.” After discarding his sword Longclaw and chasing off his beloved direwolf Ghost, Jon would spend his days building cabins only to burn them down.
Harington reportedly wanted to avoid a heroic edit for the character, and wanted him to ultimately die. “HBO found the ‘broken Jon Snow’ idea too much of a bummer and eventually pushed it aside,” per THR.
No actors are attached to the reported project, and although Harington was onboard with the idea before, it might be harder for HBO to convince the actor to return to the role that’s overshadowed his continuing career.
In an interview with Variety last month, Harington implied he was done with playing the character altogether. “No, god no,” Harington responded when asked whether he’d reprise the role for an audiobook version. “I don’t wanna go anywhere near it. I spent 10 years doing that. Thanks, I’m alright.”
Steffan Hill/HBO
Whether Jon Snow or Arya Stark return to the small screen or not, the Game of Thrones franchise will carry on. Prequel series House of the Dragon season 3 will premiere later this year, and new spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms debuts Jan. 18 on HBO.