A Jon Snow return remains possible in Kit Harington’s view, although the proposed Game of Thrones sequel is still firmly shelved. HBO has not announced a new pitch, appointed writers or resumed development, so nobody needs to prepare their fur cloak just yet.
Speaking to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Harington said he could imagine a version of the project eventually working. His comments represent a notable change in attitude after several years of distancing himself from the character, but they do not amount to a revival.
What did Kit Harington actually say?
Harington confirmed that the original team spent about two years developing the sequel before he decided the story was not strong enough.
“We developed it for two years or so, and I still think there’s a world in which something could work,” he said. “I wouldn’t have gone into it in the first place if I didn’t.”
The actor said everyone involved, including HBO and A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin, agreed that the series should proceed only if they found the right idea.
“If we don’t find the right thing, let’s not do it,” Harington recalled. “It’s much, much better we don’t.”
He ultimately concluded that neither the proposed story nor the timing worked. Harington said he personally stopped development after deciding, “This isn’t quite the right story.” That remains the project’s official condition: stopped, not secretly filming somewhere beyond the Wall.
Why was the Jon Snow sequel abandoned?
The proposed series would have continued after the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones, which ended in May 2019. Jon’s story concluded with his exile after killing Daenerys Targaryen and his departure north with the Free Folk.
The sequel was expected to examine his life after those events, including the psychological damage left by years of war, death and resurrection. Harington previously described Jon as traumatized and effectively “done” with life after the finale.
George R.R. Martin revealed in June 2022 that Harington had originated the sequel concept and recruited unnamed writers and showrunners. Martin’s team also participated in development. Crucially, however, HBO never ordered the project to series.
By 2024, Harington said it was “off the table for the foreseeable” because the team could not find a story that satisfied them. That distinction matters. The project did not lose a broadcast slot or have completed episodes discarded. It never advanced beyond development, a stage where many television ideas quietly meet administrative gravity.
Why has Harington changed his position?
Distance appears to have helped. Since leaving Game of Thrones, Harington has taken roles across film and television, including Dane Whitman in Marvel Studios’ Eternals. He now says that broader experience has made him more comfortable with Jon and with the franchise’s place in his career.
“I’ve gone and done all these other things, and now I feel more comfortable with that character and that world again, in where it sits in my life,” he said.
His position has varied considerably. In a 2025 interview with Variety, when asked whether he would voice Jon again, Harington replied, “No, god no.” A year earlier, he argued that prequels were a more natural way to expand the franchise because sequels immediately raise awkward questions about which surviving original actors should return.
The latest remarks soften that resistance. They do not erase the creative concerns that stopped the first attempt, but they suggest Harington no longer regards another appearance as unthinkable.
What would need to happen before Jon returns?
The most obvious requirement is still a story. Unlike HBO’s prequel projects, a sequel would need to establish what happened after the original series while deciding how much of its surviving cast and unresolved history to bring back.
No recent report has identified:
- A replacement concept or completed pitch
- New writers or showrunners
- Renewed talks with HBO
- Returning cast members
- A production order or release timetable
The Independent, NME, Infobae and Just Jared have all reported Harington’s comments while confirming that the original project remains shelved. HBO and Martin have made no public announcement that development has restarted.
For now, Harington has expressed willingness rather than confirmed a comeback. That is more encouraging than his earlier refusal, but television requires scripts, contracts and money before a possibility becomes a series. Jon Snow, once again, remains somewhere in the north with no scheduled return date.
