Jon Snow Spinoff Is An Ideal Entry Point Into The Post-Game…

Summary

Kit Harington pitched a "SNOW" spinoff for Jon Snow to HBO with George R.R. Martin's approval.
Despite initial excitement, HBO's CEO announced in November 2023 that the spinoff isn't happening.
Harington revealed that the Jon Snow spinoff series is currently off the table due to the lack of a compelling story.

On June 16, 2022, The Hollywood Reporter reported that a Jon Snow Spinoff under the working title "SNOW" was in early development at HBO. This announcement ignited excitement among the fans who were reeling from the unsatisfactory final season of Game of Thrones. The massively popular actor Kit Harington, who portrayed Jon Snow for eight seasons from 2011 to 2019, personally pitched the project to HBO along with his team of writers and showrunners. Harington's direct attachment to SNOW added credibility to the project. Who could do Snow better than the actor who portrayed Jon Snow?

Things gained momentum when the Game of Thrones mastermind, George R. R. Martin, gave Harington's pitch a nod on his Not A Blog blog. With previous creators and showrunners, David Benioff and Dan Weiss, out of the picture, and Harington's involvement and Martin's approval attached, there was hope that SNOW would make it to the air. However, in November 2023, HBO CEO and chairman Casey Bloys shared that the spinoff was no longer happening. A year later at a preview event for HBO and Max’s upcoming 2025 slate, Bloys revisited the previous SNOW conversation with a "Maybe we’ll try again" (per Deadline). All developments considered, the long-discussed Jon Snow spinoff isn't completely off the table and must be revived for a variety of reasons.

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George R. R. Martin & Kit Harington On The Jon Snow Spinoff Series

Game of Thrones Ending Jon Snow Kit Harington

Following THR's notable news, Martin took to his blog on June 23, 2022, to shower praise on Harington's pitch. In the post titled "Snow... And Other Stuff," the author wrote:

"Yes, it was Kit Harrington 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."

Martin also stated that Harington's team had visited him in Santa Fe and worked with his writers/ consultants to develop the show. He confirmed his involvement with SNOW, but noted that the project was still in the script stage, and not exactly set in stone. He shared that the nature of the television business implied that the likelihood of the SNOW sequel series and three more successor shows making it to the air was low. In April 2024, Harington expanded on Martin's assertion that "all sorts of reasons" were behind canned pilots, scripts, and "great treatments" were never sent to script. In a promotional Blood for Dust interview with Screen Rant, when asked if the Jon Snow spinoff series was still in development, Harington replied:

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.

A Sequel Rather Than A Prequel: A Jon Snow Spinoff Has Massive Potential

First and foremost, the spinoff series holds potential because Jon's story was left open-ended in the Game of Thrones finale. His saga concluded with him as the messiah who brought Westeros to heal by plunging a dagger into the Mad Queen Daenerys Targaryen's heart. The Northern threat had been dealt with, as Jon succeeded in allying with Daenerys at a crucial moment (Game of Thrones Season 7). It was Jon who seriously recognized the threat of the Dead and the Night King from beyond the Wall. He rallied the entire North, including the disadvantaged Free Folk, to fight the war against the Others.

Daenerys' violent takeover of King's Landing atop her dragon, Drogon, and her and Jon's final conversation, forced him to put a knife in her heart. Furthermore, the Queen's former Hand, Lord Tyrion Lannister, brought Jon face-to-face with the harsh truth that as long as Daenerys lived, Jon's sisters, Arya and Sansa Stark, would never be safe. Jon and Daenerys' final conversation was the last nail in the coffin of their political friendship and association. Jon killed her after being convinced that she would forever resort to violence over peaceful solutions, and continue being a tyrant in the lands beyond Westeros. He was imprisoned until, on the day of Judgment, a Great Council in the Dragonpit agreed to sentence him to the Night's Watch. He would own no land, take no wives, and dedicate the rest of his life to training outcasts and criminals at Castle Black.

Jon's unfinished story offers multiple possibilities for the spinoff series. The end of Game of Thrones sets the stage for SNOW, a show that can explore the mythical Dead and the Night King. The divisive final season can easily be sidestepped, while Jon's saga can continue with his direwolf, Ghost; the beloved pal, Tormund Giantsbane; and the remaining Free Folk. As seen at the end of Game of Thrones, Jon was keen on starting a life beyond the Wall. He left the dilapidated Castle Black, and walked into the Haunted Forest to live the life of a Ranger — something he'd always wanted.

The Jon Snow spinoff can dive into the story of the White Walkers, or become a personal tale of love, loss, and redemption. Rather than focusing on the big battles and political problems of Westeros, Jon's story should focus on his journey, inner struggles, and redemption, further exploring the theme of love vs. Duty. All in all, the Jon Snow spinoff series is HBO's gateway into the post-Game of Throne s era. It is an opportunity to bring together his beloved pals and tie each of their plots to ancient legends and the mysticism of the real North.

Jon Snow's inner conflicts are untouched and unresolved, and there's a significant demand for a satisfactory conclusion to his arc. As The Winds of Winter hangs in limbo, the potential Jon Snow spinoff will maintain fan engagement and keep the fandom emotionally invested in the franchise.

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