The Game of Thrones Jon Snow spinoff series is no longer in active development at HBO, Kit Harington confirms in an interview.

The Jon Snow spinoff of Game of Thrones is no longer in active development at HBO. Though the main series ended in 2019, the fantasy franchise is continuing with multiple prequel series based on the works of George R.R. Martin, including House of the Dragon and the upcoming A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. It was first reported in 2022 that a Jon Snow spinoff series, which would act as a sequel to Game of Thrones following Kit Harington’s character, was in development.

Now, during an exclusive interview with Screen Rant promoting Blood for Dust, Harington confirmed that the Jon Snow spinoff series is no longer in development. The actor says the project was previously in the developmental stage, but “currently, it’s not” and “it’s off the table” because they “couldn’t find the right story to tell.” Though it’s no longer in active development, Harington hopes they can revisit the project sometime in the future. Read his full comments below:

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.

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.

Why It’s Best The Jon Snow Spinoff Series Isn’t Happening

Game Of Thrones Works Best With Source Material

Since its development was first reported, the Jon Snow spinoff failed to make significant progress, and Kit Harington’s latest comments seem to be the nail in the coffin. Meanwhile, House of the Dragon, based on the book Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin, has been a mega-hit. The first season aired in 2022 to overwhelmingly positive reviews and broke viewership records for HBO. House of the Dragon season 2 is set to premiere on June 16 with additional seasons already planned.

Of the many Game of Thrones spinoffs in development, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight is the only one to receive a straight-to-series order. The prequel, based on George R.R. Martin’s Dunk and Egg novellas, has cast its two lead stars, Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell, and is set to start shooting in the spring of 2024. Like House of the Dragon, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight is a prequel set many years before the events of Game of Thrones and will not have to deal with its divisive ending.

Game of Thrones came to a controversial ending in 2019, with much criticism aimed at the ending for Jon Snow’s character, who was exiled from Westeros and returned with the Wildings to the lands beyond The Wall. As a sequel to Game of Thrones, the Jon Snow spinoff would have to deal directly with this divisive ending. As Harington’s comments indicate, this was too tall a task for the spinoff’s writers to deal with.

Just like David Benioff and D.B. Weiss during the latter seasons of Game of Thrones, the Jon Snow spinoff show has no source material to work with. This is perhaps the main reason why the final season of Game of Thrones suffered. Perhaps it’s for the best that the Jon Snow spinoff series isn’t happening since the Game of Thrones franchise thrives when it directly adapts George R.R. Martin’s source material.