Kit Harington Says HBO Not Actively Developing Jon Snow ‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoff: ‘It’s Firmly on the Shelf’

HBO is still in the “Game of Thrones” business, just not with Jon Snow. One of the earliest spinoffs from the hit fantasy drama was set to be about Kit Harington’s young leader, but the actor told ScreenRant that this project is not actively in development.

“Currently, it’s off the table, because we all couldn’t find the right story to tell that we were all excited about enough,” he said while promoting Rod Blackhurst’s “Blood for Dust,” releasing April 19. “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.”

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The studio has its hands full of “Thrones” worldbuilding, including the hit prequel series “House of the Dragon,” which returns for Season 2 in June, and the upcoming “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight,” which just cast its lead actors.

Harington was the one who initially pitched more Jon Snow stories, per George R.R. Martin in 2022, but the continued expansion of Martin’s on-screen universe and Harington’s own distance from the original project could easily have stymied the creative journey. He told ScreenRant that he kept quiet about the process for a variety of reasons (no doubt including his own experience with secrecy on “Thrones”).

“I hadn’t really ever spoken about it, because it was in development,” he said. “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 though it may be worth it down the line, Harington’s decision to speak publicly on the matter confirms that Jon Snow’s story has been told for now. HBO tells IndieWire it has nothing more to add to Harrington’s comments.

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