Whatever happened to the Game of Thrones Jon Snow spin-off?

There are many Game of Thrones spin-off shows in the works. The main two of focus right now are House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, but that doesn’t stop fans from looking at others. One that many fans want to see is a Jon Snow spin-off series.

Kit Harington was set to reprise the role of Jon Snow in a Game of Thrones spin-off series. The news broke in June 2022, and there was immediately speculation and discussion about it. While some fans made it clear they wanted an Arya spin-off instead, others were excited to see what Jon’s life north of The Wall was like.

The Game of Thrones Jon Snow spin-off series is no longer in the works

The bad news came in April 2024. Harington shared with Variety that the spin-off series was no longer in the works.

In June, it was in development, and Harington shared that this was when everyone started to talk about ideas for the series. The creative minds couldn’t come to a decision, and in the end, the spin-off series ideas was taken off the table. The focus had to be on the Game of Thrones shows that had stories to tell and a creative team that was on the same page.

It looks like Harington came to George R.R. Martin and his creative team with the initial idea. From there, the team couldn’t quite get to a cohesive idea.

Of course, this doesn’t mean there will never be a spin-off series. It just means that right now it’s off the table. Maybe someone can come up with an idea that everyone agrees on in the future.

Dealing with a divisive final season of Game of Thrones

There are a fair few issues with coming up with a Jon Snow spin-off series. One of the biggest problems is how fans were so divided over the way Game of Thrones ended. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss didn’t have source material to work with for the final seasons, and Martin was no longer a consultant on the show by that point. It meant the story went in a direction that we don’t expect to see in the books when Martin finally writes them.

The creative team behind a spin-off series would need to work with plans that Martin would want but also the way the Game of Thrones finale ended. That’s not going to be easy, so it’s understandable that there are some difficulties in coming to an agreement on a creative story.

Most of the spin-offs in the works are prequel series. We just have to look at House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. There are also chances that we’ll see one about the Seasnake and about Aegon’s Conquest, which brought the Targaryens to Westeros. Prequels are easier to manage as it means Martin doesn’t have to worry about the way his story ended when he stepped away from it all.