HBO's Game of Thrones Universe Officially Enters Its 'Winds of Winter' Era

Waiting is something Game of Thrones fans have become rather good at. George R.R. Martin's The Winds of Winter remains one of publishing's most famously anticipated books, while HBO has spent the years since Game of Thrones ended exploring numerous potential ways of expanding Westeros. Some of them even made it to television, but quite a few others have quietly disappeared, and anyone still holding out hope for that long-discussed Jon Snow sequel may want to take a seat.

HBO Chairman and CEO Casey Bloys has confirmed that there are currently no additional Game of Thrones spin-offs in development beyond House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Asked whether there had been any movement on expanding the franchise with further spin-offs, Bloys pointed toward the substantial amount of Westeros HBO already has on its schedule:

“You mean in addition to the Emmy-nominated Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which is coming out in the first half of ’27? And House of the Dragon? Besides that, no, nothing else.”

The update is particularly notable because plenty of other potential Westeros projects have been reported over the years. HBO has explored numerous possibilities for expanding Martin's world, creating the impression that Game of Thrones could eventually become an enormous interconnected franchise, but development doesn't necessarily mean those projects are destined for television. Bloys made that distinction elsewhere in the same interview while discussing HBO's approach to DC, explaining that audiences can sometimes mistake projects being explored behind the scenes for shows that have actually been greenlit:

“People read about development and they assume that those are greenlit shows, and they're development. And everybody knows that development is just that — you're trying things, you take big swings, not everything comes through.”

Do Any Actors Want to Return to 'Game of Thrones'?

Despite HBO putting the brakes on further spin-offs for now, several of the original Game of Thrones stars haven't completely closed the door on returning to Westeros. Sophie Turner (Joan) was asked about playing Sansa Stark again in January 2026 and joked, “Show me the money,” before admitting that returning “would be hard but also amazing.” Turner was particularly satisfied with Sansa's ending as Queen in the North, however, and said she wouldn't want to revisit the character simply for nostalgia's sake. “Maybe it would be an utter joy, or maybe it would be trying to cling on to something that was magic back in the day that can't be recreated. I would have to see a script.”

Kit Harington (Industry) went considerably further than that, having actually developed a Jon Snow sequel with HBO. In 2024, Harington confirmed that the project had been shelved after they “bounced some ideas around and nothing really lit us up.” Crucially, though, he didn't permanently rule out playing Jon again, explaining that both he and HBO cared too much about the character to make something simply for the sake of it: “Unless we find something in the future that really lands, there's no point in rushing it.”

Most recently, Maisie Williams (The New Look) addressed reports of a potential Arya Stark spin-off in September 2026.

During a larger profile interview for her role in Practical Magic 2, Williams explained to Collider's Therese Lacson that it took the years following the show's conclusion for her to properly understand what she and her co-stars had created. Looking back, she explained, “I think that over the last seven years, the biggest gift has been being able to look back and feel immense pride in what we did. It was such a surreal experience to live."

As for playing Arya again, though? She told Collider:

“Maybe. I don’t know. It changes every day. Tomorrow I might say no, and the day after I might say yes. But today I say maybe.”

Game of Thrones is available to stream on HBO Max. Stay tuned at Collider and be sure to check out Lacson's full interview with her here.