Fans Will Forgive GRRM for Winds of Winter If This Game of Thrones Sequel Finally Sails West of Westeros

George R.R. Martin still has not handed in The Winds of Winter, which is doing nothing for readers' blood pressure. But on the TV side, he just fed a different kind of hope: more live-action Game of Thrones projects, including actual sequels, are in the works. And yes, that immediately points a giant direwolf paw at Arya Stark.

What Martin actually said

At the Iceland Noir festival, Martin mentioned that multiple live-action shows set in Westeros are in development (this was picked up by Los Siete Reinos). He name-checked the stuff we already know — House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms — then added that there are several other series brewing. Most are prequels. Some are sequels. And he is not building this slate alone; he is collaborating with other writers. His ballpark number right now: five or six series in development.

• Multiple live-action projects beyond House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
• Most are prequels, but there are sequels in the mix
• He is developing them with other people, not solo
• Roughly five or six series are in development

So... a proper sequel after Game of Thrones?

That sequel line matters. HBO has been stacking prequels, but a follow-up to the original series has been the white whale. The Jon Snow spinoff was being developed, then got shelved. Which leaves the cleanest setup from the finale: Arya.

Season 8 took a beating from fans, but the Starks ended up in a surprisingly good place. Bran lands the crown of Westeros. Sansa declares the North independent and rules it. And Arya? She literally sails off the map to see what is west of Westeros. Of those three paths, one enraged a chunk of the audience (Bran), one sounds like low-drama governance (Sansa), and one screams adventure with zero book canon to box it in (Arya).

That last part is key. A Song of Ice and Fire never spells out what is beyond those uncharted waters. That gives HBO room to tell an original story, answer a long-standing mystery, and still feel like it belongs in Martin's world without stepping on unfinished book plots.

The Maisie Williams breadcrumb

Fuel on the fire: Martin recently dropped a cryptic note about meeting Maisie Williams. On his Not A Blog, he mentioned a catch-up over pizza and pasta and then teased an unnamed collaboration that he did not want to jinx. This is the exact kind of vague that makes fans go full red-string-on-the-wall. His words:

'We also got together with Maisie Williams for pizza and pasta, and talked about... well, no, better not get into that, do not want to jinx it. But it could be so much fun.'

Williams has said she would consider coming back if the script is right. Pair that with Martin hinting at sequels and, well, you can do the math.

Why Arya makes the most sense

It is a true sequel that does not need to untangle the political chessboard in King's Landing. It does not have to retcon anything. It is a frontier story in a fantasy world we already know, starring a character who is both beloved and built for exploration. If HBO wants a post-finale series that sidesteps the Season 8 baggage, this is the path with the least drag and the most potential.

Quick refresher

Game of Thrones ran from April 17, 2011 to May 19, 2019, created for TV by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss from Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. It sits at 89% on Rotten Tomatoes. If you want to revisit the ending setup before any potential sequel news drops, the series is streaming on HBO Max.

Would you watch Arya chart the unknown west of Westeros? Tell me what you want that show to be in the comments.