As avid Game of Thrones (GOT) fans will recall, the finale in the medieval fantasy drama series saw fur-clad warrior Jon Snow riding into the lands beyond the Wall to join the Wildlings — an ending that left ample room for a sequel.
Sure enough, on June 23, Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin confirmed the making of a spin-off series. Developed by HBO under the working title Snow, the new series will revolve around actor Kit Harrington’s character.
The news soon took the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo by storm, with a related hashtag accumulating more than 16 million views at the time of writing.
“Jon Snow is my favorite character in Game of Thrones, even though the ending brought him infamy. I didn’t read the original books, but I love the character in the show!” reads a post by a die-hard fan of the mopey protagonist.
“I look forward to it! Hopefully, the spin-off can be stunning too,” wrote another fan.
On the opposite end of the spectrum: Some Chinese netizens have expressed indifference towards the news. Apparently, many are still rankled by Game of Thrones’ disappointing final season.
“The ending was even worse than I thought,” reads a comment on Douban. While GOT’s previous seven seasons scored an average of 9.5/10, the eighth season only has a 6.1/10 on the Chinese movie review site.
One of the most infamous conclusions in the history of contemporary television, the finale of Game of Thrones season eight was met with an onslaught of negative criticism that spiraled into a global phenomenon.
“Please don’t… let the actors go free, okay? Are people really excited for the new program considering the ending [of GOT] was so bad?” lamented a Weibo user.
“The masterpiece has turned into a popcorn flick,” reads another comment from a disappointed viewer.
Apart from the Jon Snow sequel, another six Game of Thrones projects are currently in the works. One of them, an animated series titled The Golden Empire, is set in Yi Ti, one of the oldest and wealthiest civilizations in the Game of Thrones universe. Interestingly, the realm bears a stark resemblance to imperial China!
All images courtesy of IMDb
