Game of Thrones Star Says They May Feel a “Bit of Pain” Watching Prequel Series

Kit Harington will be making his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as Dane Whitman next week in Eternals, but for some fans, he will always be Jon Snow. The actor played the character on Game of Thrones for its entire eight-season run, and he was recently asked about the show’s upcoming spin-off series, House of the Dragon, which released its first trailer earlier this month. While Harington does plan to watch the series, he admits it’s going to be an emotional experience.

“I think to see people get into outfits and costumes, that resemble what we wore for all those years, and it [has] the same music and style and tone, but not be in it is always going to feel – There’s going to be a rawness there,” Harington shared with Insider. “Of course, I’m going to watch it and I’m going to support [co-showrunner] Miguel [Sapochnik], who’s helming the show … I wish them all the best, but it’s so close to my heart, that story, that, of course, there might be a bit of pain there.”

You can read HBO’s official synopsis for House of the Dragon here: “The prequel series finds the Targaryen dynasty at the absolute apex of its power, with more than 15 dragons under their yoke. Most empires-real and imagined-crumble from such heights. In the case of the Targaryens, their slow fall begins almost 193 years before the events of Game of Thrones, when King Viserys Targaryen breaks with a century of tradition by naming his daughter Rhaenyra heir to the Iron Throne. But when Viserys later fathers a son, the court is shocked when Rhaenyra retains her status as his heir, and seeds of division sow friction across the realm.”

As for Eternals, Harington also recently spoke with Total Film and revealed that he turned down a superhero role in the past. 

“You know, the comic-book and superhero world has called once before, and I didn’t like the role and the part and the time to do it,” Harington revealed. “So I turned it down. And then this one [in Eternals] felt right to me. I liked that the character they were offering was not necessarily an Eternal. He was human. I did like that. I felt that I could do something with that, that he came with all these human faults. So it was the character that drew me to it, as well as it being the MCU, and how exciting.”

“I’ve got no idea whether my character goes on or not,” he added. “I had read up on who he could be, or might be. So there’s the possibility for a longer trajectory. And hopefully, I think this is the tip of the iceberg for my character. I hope. But I just don’t know, you know? I’m as in the dark as anyone else. And I try not to live too far ahead in the future with anything. Even when I was in Game of Thrones, even on the sixth season, I presumed the seventh season wasn’t going to happen!”

Eternals is scheduled to hit on theatres on November 5th. House of the Dragon will debut on HBO in 2022.