The actor's candid podcast remarks reveal a striking shift from flat refusal to cautious optimism about revisiting Westeros, alongside a personal sobriety story tied to Harry Potter.
Kit Harington told podcast host Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, in an episode released around 21 September 2026, that he now feels "more comfortable" with the character of Jon Snow and could see "a world in which something could work" for a long-shelved Game of Thrones spin-off centered on the character, according to multiple entertainment outlets including The Hollywood Reporter, IGN and Collider.
Kim Kardashian Reveals Esophagitis Hospitalization in Season 8 Trailer
From Flat Refusal to Cautious Openness
SNOW
— Kit Harington's Projects (@sersisknight) August 7, 2022
Game of Thrones spin-off centered on Jon Snow (TV series)
Status: in development
What we know:
It’s set after the events of Game of Thrones. Kit Harington is attached as actor and most likely producer. pic.twitter.com/svCZ9mS57V
Harington's comments mark a dramatic reversal from statements he made in earlier interviews, where he flatly rejected any return to the Game of Thrones universe. "No, god no. I don't wanna go anywhere near it. I spent 10 years doing that. Thanks, I'm alright," he said previously, a quote resurfaced by IGN and other outlets to underscore the scale of his change in tone.
On the podcast, Harington explained the shift by pointing to his career diversification since the franchise ended. "Now I've gone and done all these other things, and now I feel more comfortable with that character and that world again and where it sits in my life," he said, according to CBR, Collider and The Playlist. He added, "I still think there's a world in which something could work," and clarified, "I wouldn't have gone into it in the first place if I didn't [think that]."
Randy Quaid Slams Anne Hathaway's Days of Thunder 2 Casting, Wants Nicole Kidman Back
Two Years of Development, Then a Quiet Shelving
Harington confirmed that he and HBO, working alongside author George R.R. Martin, spent "two years or so" developing a sequel series following Jon Snow after the events of Game of Thrones, a timeline corroborated by Winter is Coming and ComingSoon. He said the project was ultimately paused not because of network reluctance but because he personally raised concerns about the material.
"After a little while of thinking about it — it kind of was me — [I said], 'This isn't quite the right story,'" Harington said, according to ComingSoon and Comic Basics. He noted that everyone involved agreed on a strict standard: if the creative team could not "find the right thing, we won't do it, it's much, much better that we don't." By 2024, Harington had stepped back from the project entirely, and by June 2025 he was telling interviewers there was "no plan" to continue Jon Snow's story, effectively confirming the spin-off's shelving.
A Decade in Westeros and the Toll It Took
Harington played Jon Snow across all eight seasons of Game of Thrones from 2011 to 2019, a run spanning roughly a decade that made him one of the show's most recognizable faces, according to IGN's reporting. Following the series' widely debated final season, he entered a wellness facility and has since spoken publicly about struggles with stress, depression and alcohol addiction tied to the pressures of long-running franchise fame, as detailed in coverage referencing his past interviews.
That period of recovery forms the backdrop for another disclosure from the same podcast appearance: Harington revealed that listening to Stephen Fry's narration of the Harry Potter audiobooks became a nightly coping mechanism during his sobriety journey. "I listen to the Stephen Fry audiobooks. And I do that because my brain is incredibly busy, especially at night, and I've always found going to bed very difficult. My brain doesn't turn off. When I got sober, that got especially bad. And so I started listening to Harry Potter audiobooks, and now they're the thing I listen to every night. So they have a very special place in my heart," he said, as reported by Yahoo UK and SoapCentral.
Harry Potter Casting Adds a New HBO Chapter
That personal connection, Harington said, factored directly into his decision to accept the role of Gilderoy Lockhart in HBO's upcoming live-action Harry Potter series, a casting confirmed alongside his podcast comments. The dual revelations — a softening on Jon Snow and a deeply personal reason for joining Harry Potter — position Harington as an actor recalibrating his relationship with franchise work rather than avoiding it, even as he continues pursuing other projects, including the television series Industry and a new stage production of A Tale of Two Cities.
No Greenlight Yet, But the Door Is No Longer Shut
Despite the optimistic framing across outlets like Nerdist and Winter is Coming, analysts caution that Harington's comments fall short of confirming any formal revival. As The Playlist and ComingSoon both note, his remarks "stop well short of confirming he's signed on for anything specific," and no script, production timeline or HBO announcement has surfaced to indicate the spin-off is back in active development.
Fan communities on Reddit forums including r/freefolk and r/gameofthrones have seized on the "more comfortable" language as a hopeful signal, though these remain informal reactions rather than industry confirmation. For now, the verifiable development is limited to a public change in Harington's personal stance: after firmly closing the door in 2025, he has reopened it, at least in principle, while HBO's own plans for any future Jon Snow project remain unstated.
