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In Game of Thrones’ final moments, Arya asked “What’s west of Westeros?” and many are asking something similar in the real world: What’s beyond Game of Thrones season 8? As it turns out, that’s a place HBO doesn’t really feel like exploring – at least not at this moment in time.
A Game of Thrones sequel feels like a natural extension of the main show, as there’s so many different loose threads that could be finessed into a new series, but HBO Programming President Casey Bloys is pretty definitive in suggesting otherwise.
Opening up to The Hollywood Reporter, Bloys was faced with a question regarding, yep, the possibility of a Game of Thrones sequel, particularly when it comes to Arya’s voyage hinted at during the Game of Thrones finale. His answer? “Nope, nope, nope.”
That’s pretty clear-cut if you ask us, but Bloys expanded upon the answer, saying, “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.”
Of course, HBO already has at least one Game of Thrones prequel spin-off ready to film, with another two in production. That’s also part of the reason why a direct Game of Thrones sequel is unlikely to ever happen; George R.R. Martin’s world is so rich and vibrant, it doesn’t make sense to return to the same set of Starks over and over.
“George has a massive, massive world; there are so many ways in,” Bloys explains. “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.”
Fair enough. The likes of Star Wars – it could be argued – has suffered from not diving deep into the dark reaches of a galaxy far, far away and sticking with the tale of Skywalkers and Sith for generations now.
Thrones, like Arya, is heading into the unknown – but it’s going to be with a completely new set of characters, in a completely different time and, hopefully, it’s going to have us hooked in the same way all over again.
