Game of Thrones Star Kit Harington's Idea for a 'Broken' Jon Snow Sequel Was Reportedly Too Depressing Even for HBO

New details connected the cancelation of the Game of Thrones Jon Snow sequel person emerged, with HBO reported to person recovered Kit Harington’s thought for it excessively depressing to determination guardant with.

As portion of a sweeping interrogation with Game of Thrones writer George R. R. Martin, The Hollywood Reporter said Harington worked with 2 writers from play bid Gunpowder to travel up with the story, which would person seen Snow surviving unsocial arsenic a breached antheral with PTSD pursuing his exile to northbound of the Wall arsenic a compromise aft helium killed Daenerys Targaryen.

The communicative would person besides shown Snow having chased disconnected Ghost, his much-loved direwolf, and ditched Longclaw, his Valyrian alloy bastard sword. According to THR, successful this communicative Snow would person spent his clip gathering cabins and burning them backmost down again, with Harington calling for his quality to dice and debar being a hero.

It’s worthy noting that Harington has spoken astir the idiosyncratic difficulties helium faced coming retired of the extremity of Game of Thrones. According to a precocious published New York Times profile, Harington had go a “dry drunk” and spent clip successful rehab aft wrapping up enactment connected the deed show. After helium emerged, helium “was besides uncovering it hard to flight Jon Snow.” Harington took a twelvemonth retired and prepared to enactment again, but the pandemic hit, tearing up his plans.

When enactment became imaginable again, Harington told his cause helium wanted a “no swords” regularisation for vetting imaginable jobs, but helium took connected the relation of Black Knight successful high-profile Marvel flop The Eternals, which was released successful November 2021. After the movie's disastrous container office, Harington seemingly “toyed” with the thought of reprising his relation arsenic Jon Snow for a spinoff, but yet decided against it.

As portion of the profile, Harington said helium was “genuinely angered” by a fan-made petition that called for the last play of Game of Thrones to beryllium remade with “competent writers.” In 2019, pursuing the merchandise of Game of Thrones Season 8 and its consequent backlash, this instrumentality petition went viral, securing astir 2 cardinal signatures.

Harington was said to person been “shocked” by the antagonistic effect to the last season. “That [petition] genuinely angered me,” Harington said, due to the fact that helium knew however overmuch effort the show’s writers, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, had enactment in. “Like, however situation you? Sorry, that’s conscionable however I feel. I deliberation it was a level of idiocy that tin lone travel astir done societal media.”

During a Game of Thrones instrumentality normal successful 2022, Harington hinted that his spinoff would absorption connected his character's conflict to flooded past traumas pursuing the Season 8 finale. "He's gotta spell backmost up to the spot with each this past and unrecorded retired his beingness reasoning astir however helium killed Dany, and unrecorded retired his beingness reasoning astir Ygritte dying successful his arms, and unrecorded retired his beingness reasoning astir however helium hung Olly, and unrecorded retired his beingness reasoning astir each of this trauma, and that, that's interesting," Harington said astatine the time.

As THR points out, Harington’s communicative thought for the Jon Snow sequel had echoes of his idiosyncratic struggles, but it was excessively depressing adjacent for HBO. According to the report, HBO recovered the “broken Jon Snow” thought “too overmuch of a bummer” and “pushed it aside.”

Last month, Harington indicated helium was done playing Jon Snow for good. "No, deity no," Harington told Variety, erstwhile asked whether he'd reprise his aged relation again for an audiobook version. "I don't wanna spell anyplace adjacent it. I spent 10 years doing that. Thanks, I'm alright."

With Harington distancing himself from playing Jon Snow again, HBO is present said to beryllium successful "very aboriginal development" connected a Game of Thrones spinoff starring Arya Stark. As portion of the aforesaid interview, Martin opened up astir his "abysmal" moving narration with House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal, and revealed his conflict to implicit Winds of Winter.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].