HBO Want to Revive Cancelled Game of Thrones Show: Jon Snow & Arya Stark to Return?

With A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms making its debut in just a few days, the future of the Game of Thrones franchise will be front of mind once more — and HBO is reportedly eyeing a cancelled spinoff for revival. Since Game of Thrones‘ ending divided its fan base in 2019, there have been many discussions about the future of Westeros on-screen. Two spinoffs have actually come of it: House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Other planned Game of Thrones series have either remained in development (The Sea Snake, Aegon’s Conquest) or been scrapped before leaving that stage (Bloodmoon, the Jon Snow sequel).

Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that one show from the latter category is being reconsidered, however: the Jon Snow spinoff. In a piece mostly focused on an interview with author George R.R. Martin, the outlet dropped details about the scrapped story concept. Apparently, it would have depicted Jon as “a broken man” — one who not only discarded Longclaw, but who parted ways with Ghost. (Again?! Jon, you had one job!)

When HBO got into the meat of the sequel, the network realized it might be a bit too depressing and dropped it. According to THR, it’s now looking at ways to breathe new life into it alongside writer Quoc Dang Tran (Drops of God). Considering Kit Harington’s recent claim that he has no interest in reprising his Game of Thrones role this is something of a surprise — though a welcome one, if HBO can work out the plot problems.

And it’s already considering how to do that, with the idea of bringing in Arya Stark allegedly being floated. At the end of Game of Thrones, Arya ventures “west of Westeros,” meaning Jon isn’t the only character whose sequel story can be removed from the greater politics of the Seven Kingdoms (er, Six Kingdoms now). The two seem well paired for that reason, but only time will tell if something comes of these spinoff plans.

Would a Game of Thrones Sequel About Arya & Jon Snow Work?

Fortunately, HBO seems well aware of how risky any Game of Thrones sequel could be, as any spinoff set after the main series would be working without any source material to go on. A network insider told THR, “We are very interested and excited by the prospect of a sequel but also keenly aware of how high the bar of execution needs to be.”

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That’s a relief, as a Jon and Arya spinoff might work — but if later seasons of Game of Thrones are anything to judge by, it would need careful planning (and certainly a better plot than the original Jon spinoff had). Focusing on two very different places outside of Westeros could be an interesting way to go about it, and the possibility of reuniting Arya and Jon is also interesting. (The pair doesn’t get nearly enough time together in the original show.) Still, it’s difficult to imagine how HBO could pull this off without touching Westeros or catching up with Bran and Sansa Stark at all. If the network is serious about continuing Game of Thrones‘ story, hopefully it finds a way.

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