NOTE: Major spoilers ahead. Do not read if you haven’t seen the entirety of the final season of Game of Thrones.
Although HBO has previously confirmed that three prequel series are in the works, it seems Game of Thrones will not be getting any sequels or spinoffs at all.
When asked if the Arya Stark (portrayed by Maisie Williams) story arc will continue in another series, Casey Bloys, HBO’s president of programming, shot down all possibilities of not only Arya getting her own series but every character in the Game of Thrones world.
“Nope, nope, nope,” Bloys told the Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday. “No.”
“Part of it is that I want Game of Thrones to be its own thing,” said Bloys. “I don’t want to take characters from this world that (showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff) did beautifully and put them off into another world with someone else creating it.”
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As a result, fans hoping to found out what, exactly, is west of Westeros may be out of luck.
Throughout Game of Thrones’ final season, Arya came out on top after winning the hearts of thousands of dedicated fans, particularly in the season’s third episode, “The Long Night,” after she assassinated the villainous Night King, ultimately ending the long-standing Great War.
In last Sunday’s series finale, “The Iron Throne,” instead of returning to Winterfell with her sister, Sansa — the new Queen of the North — Arya decided she would venture outside of Westeros, where the maps stop, and find out what lies beyond.
The unexpected ending for Arya, however, wasn’t out of character at all, which is why it’s proven to be one of the more redeeming qualities of what many have considered to be a disappointing series finale.
Although many fans were left with hopes of one day finding out about the character’s travels, that no longer seems likely — at least in the near future.
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“I want to let it be the artistic piece (Weiss and Benioff made),” said Bloys. “That’s one of the reasons why I’m not trying to do the same show over.”
“George (R.R. Martin, creator of Game of Thrones) has a massive, massive world; there are so many ways in,” he continued. “That’s why we’re trying to do things that feel distinct and to not try and redo the same show.”
“That’s probably one of the reasons why, right now, a sequel or picking up any of the other characters doesn’t make sense for us,” Bloys said.
Bloys didn’t go into much detail regarding the three upcoming prequel series, however he did confirm that shooting for the first will begin this summer.
“There are two more in development (but) beyond that, there’s nothing else to report,” he added.
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While it’s highly unlikely that fans will get to see what comes of Westeros with “Bran the Broken” serving as its new king or whether the Night’s Watch will ever serve another purpose, Game of Thrones viewers will instead be treated to a further in-depth look at the lore of Martin’s fantasy world.
As of this writing, no official details have been made available regarding the upcoming prequel series.
Williams has not currently made comment regarding the cliffhanger ending of her character’s arc, either.
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