The success and popularity of Game of Thrones created more demand for spinoffs, but one of the few that failed to get off the ground was Kit Harington’s Jon Snow. The title was one of the first projects planned outside of the original show, but after a long-gestating process and no positive progress, they decided to shelve it for the meantime.
As devastating as it sounds for fans, Harington saw the signs early on and eventually followed his gut. He dropped from the project to avoid a major mistake.
Kit Harington Opens Up About Shelved Jon Snow Spinoff
Kit Harington spoke with GQ magazine and shared what actually happened with the Jon Snow spinoff. He initially did not like the proposal, but he found something in the idea that sparked his interest.
It was HBO that came to me and said, ‘Would you consider this?’ My first reaction was no. And then I thought there could be an interesting and important story about the soldier after the war. I felt that there might be something left to say and a story left to tell in a pretty limited way.
The Jon Snow spinoff was going to be about the titular character’s life after the events in Game of Thrones and Harington revealed they “spent a couple of years back and forth developing it” but nothing got them excited enough to push through the story.
The English star confessed he was the first to walk away from the job. He did it to avoid committing a career blunder he might regret later.
In the end, I kind of backed out and said, ‘I think if we push this any further and keep developing it we could end up with something that’s not good. And that’s the last thing we all want.’
With several upcoming spinoffs on deck, the story of the life of a soldier post-war may not be the most interesting for fans given the format and theme of the original series. Game of Thrones is all about politics and power, the ascension and ruin of dynasties coveting the crown and the Iron Throne.
Jon Snow’s storyline would have been a huge deviation from this and the fanbase might not appreciate it in the end.
Will HBO Reconsider A Jon Snow Series In The Future?
While Harington claimed the Jon Snow spinoff is “off the table” in his interview with Screen Rant, the actor gave a faint hint that they might revisit it some other time.
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.
It doesn’t look like a priority for HBO at the moment since there’s the upcoming Season 3 of House of the Dragon, as well as 2025’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and the animated series Nine Voyages. Aegon’s Conquest is also in early development.
Game of Thrones is streaming on HBO.
