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Game of Thrones: Kit Harington Confirms Jon Snow Series "On The Shelf"

Game of Thrones star Kit Harington confirmed that his proposed Jon Snow spinoff sequel series is no longer in development. Here's why...

In terms of spinoffs from HBO and David Benioff & D.B. Weiss' Game of Thrones, the idea of a sequel series – set after the finale of the global phenomenon – that would see Kit Harington return as Jon Snow was one we were pretty excited about. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like the folks who make the decisions agreed with us. In an interview with Screen Rant to promote his film Blood for Dust (releasing in theaters & on digital on April 19th), Harington confirmed that the project was no longer in development and not moving forward at this time.

"I hadn't really ever spoken about it because it was in development. I didn't want it leaked out that it was being developed, and I didn't want the thing to happen where people kind of start theorizing, getting either excited about it or hating the idea of it when it may never happen. Because in development, you look at every angle, and you see whether it's worth it," Harington shared. "And currently, it's not. Currently, it's off the table because we all couldn't find the right story to tell that we were all excited about enough. So, 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, but at the moment, no. It's firmly on the shelf."

Game of Thrones: A Look Back at "Snow" Timeline

Between Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav's mandate that the WBD do more with its IPs and the success of HBO's "Game of Thrones" prequel series House of the Dragon, it's no surprise that more & more attention is being paid to Harington's reported possible return. So much so that even NBC's The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon dared to go there when Harington stopped by the late-night talk show. Starting at around 3:10, Harington discusses what it was like attending a GOT convention in Los Angeles in December 2022 (more on that in a minute). From there, Fallon springboards into the spinoff rumblings, with Harington playing a bit coy about what he could say while joking about how he may have to return so people keep remembering him. From there, Fallon & Harington came up with a fool-proof plan that would guarantee the spinoff gets made. And while we won't spoil it, let's just say that it would involve the fans literally doing nothing. Here's a look at Harington's late-night visit with Fallon:

George RR Martin & Kit Harington on "GOT" Spinoff Series "Snow"

In a blog post from Summer 2022, GRRM confirmed that the working title for the sequel series was "Snow," joining three other live-action shows in development at HBO and that the project "has been in development almost as long as the other three," but the news only leaked recently. GRRM also confirmed that "it was Kit Harington who brought the idea to us" and that Harington also brought in "his own team" of writers and showrunners. And though their names haven't been cleared for release yet, GRRM says "they are terrific." The celebrated author also confirmed his involvement in the series. "Kit's team have visited me here in Santa Fe and worked with me and my own team of brilliant, talented writers/ consultants to hammer out the show," GRRM continued. While he made it clear that none of the projects had received an official green light yet, GRRM offered a pretty impressive-sounding update at the time on how development was going. "All four of these successor shows are still in the script stage. Outlines and treatments have been written and approved, scripts have been written, notes have been given, second and third drafts have been written," the author wrote.

"I think if you asked him, he would've felt he got off lightly. 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," Harington shared during his appearance at a Los Angeles GOT convention in December 2022, when asked about where Snow's head was at heading into the series-ender after having killed Daenerys (Clarke).

"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," Harington continued, clearly alluding to the tortured hero's mindset heading into the end credits (and into his own series). "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 OK. He's not OK."

In May 2023, HBO's head of drama, Francesca Orsi, offered a rundown of the new, returning & on-the-bubble shows on the way for the cable powerhouse – with the cabler's "Game of Thrones" universe taking center stage. When the topic of Harington's possible return as Jon Snow for a pseudo-sequel/spinoff series "Snow," Orsi offered a cautious update: "We're just working deeply with the writers to get it in shape for potential greenlight, but at this point, no, no determination on whether it can go all the way." Well, it's six months later, and it doesn't appear that its status has changed. "We always have 'Game of Thrones' scripts in development. We greenlit 'Dunk and Egg' in the spring. I wouldn't say there is anything else in that world that is close to a green light or anything, but we are always working on different scripts and ideas," clarified HBO & Max Chairman & CEO Casey Bloys.

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