London: If sources are to be believed, GOT fans can expect return of the prodigal Jon Snow aka Kit Harington who will reprise his role if HBO's yet unnamed series goes ahead, potentially extending George RR Martin’s world beyond source material.
A Game of Thrones spin-off sequel centred on Jon Snow is in early development at HBO, with Harington set to return as the brooding outlaw who ruled fans' heart for eight seasons.
First confirmed by the Hollywood Reporter on Friday, the so far unnamed show will take place after the events of Game of Thrones, which ran for almost a decade between 2011 and 2019 and became one of the biggest television series of all time.
Set in Martin’s fantasy books' world, the new show is the first of the subsequently announced Game of Thrones spin-offs to be a sequel, and a sign HBO will extend Martin’s world beyond the source material, reopening what was previously thought to be the end of the saga.
Martin has yet to finish writing the books, with fans having waited 11 years so far for the sixth of seven books.
HBO’s adaptation ended with Snow, previously thought to be the bastard son of Ned Stark, realising that he could be an heir to the iron throne. In the final scenes, Snow went into exile from Westeros to begin a new life.
It is so far unconfirmed if the few familiar faces who were still living at the end of the notoriously grisly series – such as his half-siblings Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) and Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) – could appear in the show.
HBO’s upcoming spin-off House of the Dragon, set 200 years before Game of Thrones, will start on August 21. Other spin-offs previously confirmed by HBO include "Tales of Dunk and Egg", "10,000 Ships and Nine Voyages", which are all prequels.
Harington was nominated for two Emmys for his performance as Snow. HBO have declined to comment. Representatives for Harington also did not immediately respond to request for comment to the media speculations.
Since completing his work across eight seasons of GOT, Harington has appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, co-starring in 2021’s Eternals. He also starred in the title role in the National Theater’s live production of Henry V.
On GOT, the actor was known for enduring some of the show’s most grueling filming, including the final season’s infamous 11 weeks of winter night shoots in Northern Ireland.
The development signals an intriguing new direction in HBO’s handling of author Martin’s fantasy universe, a move not unlike Disney+’s management of its Star Wars and Marvel brands where the streamer has found success launching character-focused sequel series such as WandaVision (starring Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (with Ewan McGregor reprising his iconic role), media reports said.
Perhaps most boldly from a creative standpoint, the project would upend Thrones’ final season as the last word on the fates of the surviving characters in HBO’s most popular and Emmy-winning series of all time, HR said.
In theory, the project could open the door for other surviving characters from the Thrones universe to reappear – such as Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie).
This development means there are now seven Thrones projects in the works in addition to the upcoming House of the Dragon prequel series. Dragon tells the story of a civil war within House Targaryen and is set about 200 years before the events in GOT. (UNI)