The return of the King in the North. The original Game of Thrones is over, but the spinoffs are just getting started.
Shortly before the August 2022 premiere of prequel House of the Dragon, news broke that HBO is working on a GoT sequel series about Jon Snow — and Kit Harington is attached to reprise his role as the former Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch.
George R.R. Martin, who wrote the books on which GoT was based, confirmed the news in June 2022. “Yes, there is a Jon Snow show in development,” the Song of Ice and Fire author wrote on his blog at the time. “Yes, it was Kit Harrington [sic] who brought the idea to us. I cannot tell you the names of the writers/showrunners, since that has not been cleared for release yet … but Kit brought them in too, his own team, and they are terrific.”
The Eternals actor played Jon Snow throughout GoT‘s entire run from April 2011 to May 2019, appearing in nearly every episode of the show. His character began the series believing his parents were Ned Stark (Sean Bean) and an unnamed woman with whom Ned had an affair, but he eventually learned that his “father” hid his real parentage so he wouldn’t be killed.
As revealed in the show’s final seasons, Jon’s mother was Ned’s sister, Lyanna Stark (Aisling Franciosi), and his biological father was Rhaegar Targaryen (Wilf Scolding), the late brother of Daenerys (Emilia Clarke). This meant that Jon was technically the rightful heir to the Iron Throne of Westeros, though the series ended with his half-brother Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) ruling the country.
It’s unlikely that Clarke will appear in the new show given that her character died during season 8, but her former costar did let her know that he might return to the HBO fold. “He has told me about it,” the Last Christmas actress told the BBC in June 2022. “And I know it exists. It’s happening.”
Harington has been open about the fact that making GoT — which marked his first TV appearance — was very difficult, but he also credits the show with bringing him happiness in both his personal and professional lives. The Pompeii star met his wife, Rose Leslie, while working on the series, and the duo welcomed a son in February 2021.
“I look at [the show] with great fondness,” Harington told The Guardian in February 2022. “I looked at it from a perspective of tortuousness and anxiousness a lot when I was in it. I’ve got no reason to be doing that now.”
Keep scrolling for everything to know about the Jon Snow spinoff series.