A lot of credit has to be given to Kit Harington and the mega-stardom he achieved with Game of Thrones. Virtually transformed into one of the most recognizable faces on the planet, for almost 10 years he was “unable” to change his look as Jon Snow (they say it was contractual) and, no matter how many good performances he gave us in comedies and other dramas, he never leaves the shadow of his most famous character. Or, his ghost.

Jon was both a hero and an antagonist, if you are a defender of Danaerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), and created such great pressure on the young star’s mental health that he went through a period of detox and reinvention, on stage and in “lesser” content. Not even six years later, Kit can avoid talking about Jon. And we double credit him: he never refuses to talk about the series, the character, or the controversial issues. I’m a fan of the character and the actor who is now back in all media outlets after joining the cast of the series Industry, also from MAX.

And yet, whether in other franchises, animation, or even other series, what we always want to know from Kit is about the universe of Westeros. In particular, the spin-off Snow surprised us that it was in development and now leaves us frustrated by being “retired”. Those who read the blog know that I’m part of the group that defends Jon and that I think his conclusion in the saga was at least frustrating. It would be a chance to “resolve” some small details. But we’ll have to wait or just dream.

In an interview with GQ magazine, Kit Harington was once again generous with his frankness. He never hid the fact that as soon as Game of Thrones ended he was officially an alcoholic, immediately entering rehab when no one would let him take a step outside with peace of mind. Today, married to Leslie Rose (who he met while filming the series) and with two young children, he remains open about everything he has experienced, whether happy or sad.

And of course, the fact that to this day most people still complain about the end of Game of Thrones, the online petition for a “new ending” already has more than 1.8 million signatures, makes it official that the rejection is not part of a smaller group of dissatisfied people. “I think if there was any fault with the end of Thrones, it is that we were all so tired, we couldn’t have continued any longer. And so I understand that some people thought it was rushed and I can agree with them. But I’m not sure if there was any alternative”, he reflects.

The interview is extremely interesting, especially because the reporter was with him in 2017, at the height of GOT’s fame, and has good comparisons with those he met again in 2024, and he admits that much of the calculated indifference he tried to convey at the time was purely based on panic in the face of massive fame. Something that he has mastered so much today that entering the third season of an ongoing series is not even remotely a problem.

Just like in the Apple series Extrapolations, in Industry, we see the actor playing a millionaire with questionable morals, the opposite of the always-correct Jon, so you don’t have to look far to understand that he wants to change his image. He explains that he has always been a fan of the series and asked to join the cast. And obviously, being a star, he got it.

But what we really want to know is about Snow what was done, and why it stopped being developed. The traumatized part reacted with suspicion about what the spin-off could be considering that the final season was so different from what was expected. “I think there were mistakes made, story-wise, maybe at the end. I think some interesting choices didn’t work out very well,” Kit defended diplomatically. To avoid further speculation, he avoided explaining what the basis of the spin-off would be, which would necessarily have Jon Snow in his exile as its basis.

“What I can tell you is that it was HBO that came to me and said, ‘Would you consider this?’ My initial reaction was no. And then I thought there could be an interesting and important story about the soldier after the war. I felt like there could be something to be said and a story to be told in a very limited way. We spent a few years going back and forth developing it. And nothing really got us excited enough,” he explains, using the same words every time he talks about the subject. “In the end, I kind of stepped back and said, ‘I think if we push this any further and keep developing it, we might end up with something that’s not good. And that’s the last thing any of us want.’” he tries to end the discussion.

As I mentioned here on the blog a while ago, it’s still too early to return to Westeros so close to Daenerys. This is clear with House of the Dragon: even though the plot takes place 200 years earlier, every scene is compared to the mother of dragons and her image in the final episode of season 2 caused a stir.

“In a way “But you have to completely divorce yourself from that previous thing, and we’re only a few years after that,” Kit told GQ. “The role [Jon Snow] will always be such a significant part of my life. It may very well be the biggest, most important job I’ve ever done. I met my wife on it. I have kids from it. I have some lifelong friends. I get recognized on the street for it. [But] it was also going against what I’m trying to do, which is separate myself from [the show]. Because I’m still with it, [it would] be really hard to ask people to see it as something else. And it’s kind of essential to doing my job, for people to come see me and not see Jon Snow,” he added.

I totally get what he’s saying. Even if I dream of a Snow in 2027 or 2028, it would still be too soon to fix the mess created by the series’ conclusion. It’s been extremely difficult. Just as it’s unlikely we’ll see him in the Marvel universe again any time soon since Eternals didn’t take off. He’s not alone: ​​Emilia Clarke‘s participation in other franchises, including Marvel itself, has not been as successful as Game of Thrones.

All of this reminds me of what Mark Hamill once said about Star Wars. At the time, he said, he thought that all the projects that followed would be the same kind of hype. Obviously, they never were, not even the most recent trilogy. Today, he finally considers the chapter closed. “You never say never,” he told the LA Times in case they call him again later. “They have so many stories to tell,” he continued. “They don’t need Luke anymore.”

Can I disagree? We always need Luke Skywalker like we need Jon Snow. We just have to give him time to miss us. I still have hope!

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