Game of Thrones sequel: new Jon Snow spin-off series explained - who could return to cast with Kit Harington?

A new Game of Thrones spin-off is in the works and will focus on Jon Snow as he goes beyond the wall.

The series is the seventh spin-off from the fantasy series to be confirmed by HBO, and is the first to be a sequel set after the events of Game of Thrones.

Snow, as it’s provisionally called at the moment, will join a number of other Game of Thrones spinoffs. House of the Dragon, a prequel series about the Targaryen dynasty, is set to return in 2024, with a spinoff of its own for supporting character Corlys Velaryon in development. There’s also prequels Ten Thousand Ships and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and an animated spinoff called Golden Empire; a series set in Flea Bottom was announced but later cancelled.

Little is known about the Jon Snow spin-off thus far, but we do know that it will continue Jon’s story from where Game of Thrones left off, and way beyond the scope of George R.R. Martin’s books on which the series was based. It’s also based on idea from Kit Harington himself, who pitched the project to George RR Martin and HBO.

What happened to Jon Snow in season 8 of Game of Thrones?

The last season of Game of Thrones saw Jon fight in the Battle of Winterfell against the army of the undead, where the Night King and his army is defeated.

He also discovers that his true identity is Aegon Targaryen, and therefore he has a claim to the Iron Throne, though he does not want to pursue that life.

Jon then fights at the Battle of King’s Landing alongside Daenerys, where he witnesses the devastation she brings to the city and its people.

Unable to allow Daanerys to rule as a tyrant, Jon assassinates her, and is then exiled and rejoins the Night’s Watch to lead the Free Folk, or Wildlings, into the unsettled northern lands.

What will the new Jon Snow series be about?

The currently untitled spin-off series (for my two cents, I’d call it North of the Wall) will follow Jon Snow’s exploits after the events of Game of Thrones.

Speaking at a recent convention panel, Kit Harington revealed a little about Jon Snow’s character in his proposed spinoff.

“I think if you asked him, he would’ve felt he got off lightly,” Harington said during the panel, according to Entertainment Weekly. “At the end of the show, when we find him in that cell, he’s preparing to be beheaded and he wants to be. He’s done. The fact he goes to the Wall is the greatest gift and also the greatest curse.”

Harington continued, “He’s gotta go back up to the place with all this history and live out his life thinking about how he killed Dany, and live out his life thinking about Ygritte dying in his arms, and live out his life thinking about how he hung Olly, and live out his life thinking about all of this trauma, and that, that’s interesting.”

Otherwise, the series is likely to be set in the extreme north of the lands beyond the wall - or where the wall used to be, before it was destroyed by the Night King.

The Free Folk live in the harsh untamed environment north of the wall and do not recognise the authority of Kings and Queens in the seven kingdoms south of the wall. The Free Folk are often divided into rival clans, but they rallied around Jon Snow in the final season of Game of Thrones.

With the major antagonists of Game of Thrones - Cersei Lannister and the Night King - dead, it is likely that the series will feature a new antagonist. Equally, as most of the action in Game of Thrones took place south of the wall, with only a few excursions into the icy northern lands, there is plenty yet to be explored.

For instance, in territory north of the wall exists the Haunted Forest, and in the most northerly region are the Lands of Always Winter, from where the White Walkers originated.

Who will star in the Jon Snow series?

For now, at least, the only person whose involvement can be guaranteed is Kit Harington’s, as both the actor who plays Snow and the person who proposed the spinoff.

The return of Jon Snow to the fold also opens the door for other Game of Thrones characters to make appearances in the series, even if only in a cameo capacity.

While the events of the series are likely to take place in the far north, it’s not impossible that some of Jon’s old friends and family could visit.

Of the lucky few who survived the events of Game of Thrones, there are Jon’s sisters Arya and Sansa.

Arya, played by Maisie Williams, sailed off west of the Sunset Sea, so she’s probably a bit preoccupied (although a spin-off series of her own may not be out of the question). Sansa, played by Sophie Turner, is much closer in proximity, as she was crowned Queen in the North in the season eight finale, and could therefore feature in the series.

Other characters friendly to Jon include his brother-turned three eyed raven Brandon, played by Isaac Hempstead Wright, who is currently on a quest to find Drogon, the last living dragon, and Tyrion, played by Peter Dinklage, the Lord of Casterly Rock and Hand of the King.

Some of the Free Folk Jon befriended could also appear in the spin-off. The most likely candidate is Tormund Giantsbane, played by Kristofer Hivju, who is seen walking north with Jon in the final ever scene of Game of Thrones.

Is there a release date?

No, as the series has only just been announced, it’s unlikely there is even a script at this point.

As this is the latest of several spin-offs to be announced it is likely to be a few years before it comes to our screens. However, it’s a safe bet that it will arrive before George Martin finishes writing Winds of Winter.