Beware: Spoilers for the series finale of Game of Thrones are discussed below.
Well, it was great to dream about while it lasted, but if you were excited about a potential Arya spinoff, you should not pack your bags to head west of Westeros. Since the series finale, fans were clamoring for a series starring the younger Stark sister. Game of Thrones ended with the one-time assassin turning into a full-blown explorer.
Arya’s plans included a trek to sail west of Westeros. It all bore the trademark signs of a potential spinoff. Only it is not going to be one. When asked if HBO was considering exploring an Arya spinoff, the network's president of programming, Casey Bloys, told THR:
Nope, nope, nope. No. Part of it is, I do want this show — this Game of Thrones, Dan and David's show — to be its own thing. I don't want to take characters from this world that they did beautifully and put them off into another world with someone else creating it. I want to let it be the artistic piece they've got. That's one of the reasons why I'm not trying to do the same show over. George has a massive, massive world; there are so many ways in. 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.
If I’m getting this right, unless D.B. Weiss and David Benioff really want to do an Arya Stark spinoff, it or any other sequel series is unlikely to ever happen. Hence, the creation of prequels instead of sequels to the Game of Thrones universe. It is a unique strategy that leaves out all of the main characters that comprised the original.
HBO does not want to repeat the world presented in the show that started it all, but because George R.R. Martin created such a massive universe in his novels, the cabler is interested in helping bring more of the history of his fantasy world to life. And, they don't want to put the characters that Benioff and Weiss helped to hone for the small screen in the hands of another showrunner. So, no more Arya or any other character you knew and rooted for. As of right now, they are all really gone.
This explains the motivation HBO had to focus on going back to the past. Instead of flashing years into the future. Something that could give another writing team the chance to share what happened to Game of Thrones’ characters after the finale.
Viewers would know how long Bran ended up being King and who took his place, along with other bits of info. You can see where that would be an issue. As someone other than Game of Thrones’ showrunners would tell that story. It seems like HBO wants to keep the fate of the show’s characters firmly in D.B. Weiss and David Benioff’s creative control.
HBO is now focused on going back to the past, and that means no spinoffs or continuations for your favorites. That sense of finality came through in Game of Thrones’ finale more than in other recent endgames. As of this moment in time, it seems like there is little hope for fans to be able to revisit these characters on TV.
That is, unless D.B. Weiss and David Benioff decide to revisit Game of Thrones in the future. It is something that could theoretically happen. People have returned to their former creative paths before. For now, though, HBO taking this stand means there will be no Arya spinoff, nor one about Tormund and Ghost (which I think would be awesome).
If the thought of no Arya sequel brings a tear to your eye, you are not alone, but everything must come to an end. Plus, there are those prequels to look forward to. One of the prequel series landed Naomi Watts and a bevy of other stars for the pilot, so it's something to look out for in the future. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more on that series as news develops.
