The actor who brought Jon Snow to life, Kit Harington, has expressed his fury over a long-running fan campaign to remake the final season of Game of Thrones. The petition, which has amassed a staggering over 1.8 million signatures, has been labelled "idiotic" by the star.
The Petition That Sparked a Dragon's Fury
Following the broadcast of the eighth and final season of the HBO epic in 2019, a wave of fan disappointment crystallised into a formal online appeal. Created by a viewer known as Dylan D from Texas, the petition on Change.org initially sought 15,000 signatures but rapidly went viral. It criticised showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss for their writing once the series moved beyond George R. R. Martin's source material, pleading: "This series deserves a final season that makes sense."
Harington, 39, did not mince his words when addressing the campaign in an interview with the New York Times. "That genuinely angered me," he stated. "Like, how dare you? Sorry, that’s just how I feel. I think it was a level of idiocy that can only come about through social media." He acknowledged the passion behind the petition but confirmed it was never seriously considered by the show's creators.
Cast Members Unite in Defence of the Finale
Harington is far from alone in defending the controversial conclusion. Isaac Hempstead Wright, who portrayed the eventual King Bran Stark, previously slammed the petition as "absurd" and "ridiculous." The actor, now 26, admitted to taking the backlash personally and passionately argued that Daenerys Targaryen's descent into the "Mad Queen" was a logical result of her character's journey and the immense losses she suffered.
Further support came from Jacob Anderson, who played the loyal Unsullied commander Grey Worm. He told TMZ that the intense backlash "sucks" and felt "insulting" to the vast cast and crew who dedicated years to the production.
A Creator's Vent That Became a Global Phenomenon
The petition's creator has since explained his motives, describing the action as an emotional outlet for his disappointment. "I was just so disappointed and angry. It was simply me venting a bit," Dylan D said. He emphasised that fans had invested deep passion into the story and felt crushed by the handling of the final seasons, comparing it to knowing a car is broken without being a mechanic.
Despite the unprecedented fan campaign, the cast's unified response underscores a staunch defence of the creative decisions made. The final season, which saw the deaths of both Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen and the crowning of Bran the Broken, remains the official ending to the saga. Game of Thrones is available to stream on NOW in the UK.
