SPRING IS COMING?

Kit Harington Hinted At The Direction His Jon Snow Spinoff Will Take

Harington spoke to fans about his character’s headspace at the end of Game of Thrones.

by Kyle Munzenrieder

Kit Harington in sexy pajamas.
Photographs by Mario Sorrenti, Styled by Edward Enninful

If you’re bothering to read this, you probably don’t need a spoiler alert to know that Kit Harington’s Jon Snow (né Aegon Targaryen) did not become Lord of the Seven Kingdoms at the end of Game of Thrones (very famously so). But apparently, he’s won something even greater: a spin-off! According to The Hollywood Reporter, a Jon Snow-centric sequel series is currently in development at HBO with Harington attached both in the lead role and behind the scenes. This, despite the lukewarm reception to the blockbuster show’s finale.

When we last saw Westeros’s favorite Short Not-Quite-King, he had his Direwolf ghost and a band of wildlings by his side, heading to the lands north of the wall, suggesting that more adventures were in his future. What exactly those adventures could entail, we’re not quite sure—but here’s everything we do know so far.

Is It Guaranteed to Happen?

Officially, it’s only in “development” right now, which doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to premiere at all. HBO famously shot an entire pilot for a GoT prequel series with a star-studded cast (including Naomi Watts), only to scrap it and instead move forward with another prequel series, House of the Dragon. There are also at least five other spin-offs in various states of development (including some animated series). The public knows most about the reported prequels, and none besides the Jon Snow series have been confirmed to involve characters from the original series.

What Has Kit Harington Said About The Spinoff?

At a Game of Thrones convention on December 11th, Harington came the closest he has to directly commenting on the spinoff. While he didn’t give specific details about the show, he heavily hinted at the direction it will take by speaking about where Jon Snow ended up at the end of GoT:

"I think if you asked him, he would've felt he got off lightly," Harington said. "At the end of the show when we find him in that cell, he's preparing to be beheaded and he wants to be. He's done. The fact he goes to the Wall is the greatest gift and also the greatest curse.

"He's gotta go back up to the place with all this history and live out his life thinking about how he killed Dany, and live out his life thinking about Ygritte dying in his arms, and live out his life thinking about how he hung Olly, and live out his life thinking about all of this trauma, and that…that’s interesting.

"So I think where we leave him at the end of the show, there's always this feeling of like… I think we wanted some kind of little smile that things are okay. He's not okay," he added.

Does Kit Harington Have the Time to Do All Of This? What About His Marvel Role?

Apparently so! Harington famously joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Eternals. His character Dane Whitman is more of a supporting role in the film, but in the comics (spoiler alert, we suppose) he does become the hero Black Knight in his own right. However, no sequel to Eternals has been announced and it’s unclear whether the MCU will move forward with the character. Otherwise, Harington is attached to play the Monster role in Mary's Monster (a sort of meta-Frankenstein adaptation of sorts), and has a role in the movie Blood for Dust.

Who’s Behind the Scenes?

This information comes from an unlikely, though not particularly surprising source: Emilia Clarke. She told the BBC that she’s heard about the show directly from Harington, and that’s he played a huge part in creatively developing the series. “He [Harington] has told me about it. And I know it exists. It’s happening,” she told the BBC. “It’s been created by Kit, as far as I can understand, so he’s in it from the ground up. So what you will be watching, hopefully, if it happens, is certified by Kit Harington.” No other creatives have been confirmed.

So, Will Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys Targaryen return?

Babe, she’s dead. Plus, maybe it’s best for all parties involved to move past the incest. “No, I think I’m done,” the actress added.

Will Gwendoline Christie’s Brienne of Tarth return?

Well, Christie is open to it. "Brienne of Tarth is incredibly close to my heart, and I would relish any opportunity to revisit her. I believe she is enduring," she told Newsweek. Intriguing!

Jon and Brienne however aren’t the most closely linked of characters. They didn’t interact much during early seasons of the show, but did wind up on the same side in the end. Still, Both characters seem to have adventurous spirits, so it might make sense for them to cross paths again. Plus, as of last check, Brienne is the Lord Commander of Jon’s brother’s King’s Guard.

Who Else Could Return?

There have been no confirmations, but technically any character left alive after Game of Thrones could at least drop by for a cameo ,at least. Technically, even anyone dead could return for a flashback or through some sort of sorcery or magic in some guise or another.

Are We Finally Going to Get Lady Stoneheart?

Fans of George R. R. Martin’s books are still salty that Lady Stoneheart (a vengeful, resurrected Caitlyn Stark) never appeared in the series. Martin, though, is quite famously not actually done writing her story. We do know that Caitlyn and Jon’s relationship was also tense at best, however—so it might make sense...