Kit Harington Says Fan Petition to Remake Game of Thrones Season Eight Was an Insult to Cast and Creators

12 January 2026

Kit Harington as Jon Snow in “Game of Thrones.” Helen Sloan/HBO

Kit Harington, the British actor best known for portraying Jon Snow on Game of Thrones, has expressed sharp frustration over a long-running fan petition that demanded the notoriously controversial eighth season of the HBO fantasy series be remade. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Harington, now 39, did not mince words when reflecting on the viral online movement that at its peak gathered nearly 1.8 million signatures seeking a redo of the series finale. The reaction from the actor, who spent a decade bringing one of television’s most iconic characters to life, illustrates just how intensely cast members feel about the legacy of a show that defined their careers and captivated global audiences for years.

The petition at the center of the debate emerged in 2019 after the final episodes of Game of Thrones aired to a mixture of admiration and widespread disappointment. Fans criticized elements like character decisions, pacing and narrative choices, particularly in the final two instalments. The petition’s creators argued that the season was rushed and that the show’s showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, should bring in “competent writers” to rework the conclusion in a way that made more sense. Despite its popularity on Change.org and the intense discussion it generated across social platforms, the campaign never gained traction with HBO, and any idea of a reshoot remained purely hypothetical.

Harington reacted with indignation when asked about the movement years later, describing the petition as “a level of idiocy that can only come about through social media.” He said he was “genuinely angered” by the notion that years of creative effort by the cast and crew could be dismissed so casually by fans who were unhappy with the way the story wrapped up. His comments underline how personal the backlash feels to those who devoted years of their lives to the production, often under intense schedules and immense public scrutiny.

The actor also recalled that his own experience of the final season was shaped by exhaustion, both from the demands of a decade of heavy work and his personal challenges during that period. Harington was in rehab for alcohol addiction and stress when the final episodes aired in 2019 and only fully absorbed the scale of fan anger when he returned to public life later. Though he acknowledged that some story choices might not have worked for everyone, he stressed that the show’s creative team had given everything they had to the project, and that dismissing their work outright felt disrespectful to him.

Several of Harington’s Game of Thrones co-stars have also weighed in over the years on fan reactions to the finale. Actress Sophie Turner, who played Sansa Stark, described the petition as “disrespectful,” while Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Jaime Lannister on the series, called it “annoying.” Others acknowledged that the final season presented challenges and that fans’ disappointment stemmed from a deep emotional investment in the story and its richly developed characters. Given the show’s cultural prominence, it was perhaps inevitable that opinions would diverge sharply once the narrative had concluded.

The controversy surrounding Game of Thrones Season 8’s ending has become one of the most enduring fan debates in television history. From the swift shift in Daenerys Targaryen’s character arc to Jon Snow’s ultimate decision to kill her, many pivotal moments sparked heated discussion, fan edits and endless speculation online. This reaction was magnified by Game of Thrones’ status as one of the most watched and influential series of its generation, setting expectations for storytelling that were almost impossible to meet uniformly.

Behind the scenes, cast members often stressed the endurance and effort that went into making the show. Filming schedules for the final seasons were notoriously grueling, with actors and crew enduring long days in tough conditions on location in places like Northern Ireland, Spain and Iceland. The creative team also had to navigate the fact that the original book series by George R.R. Martin had outpaced the novels’ publication, leaving later storylines to be shaped without the benefit of finished source material, a factor that contributed to the perception of rushed narrative threads.

Harington’s candid comments about the petition also reflect a broader truth about the relationship between audiences and storytellers in the age of social media. Fans today have unprecedented access to creative voices and an amplified platform to voice collective opinion, but this can sometimes evolve into an expectation that creators are beholden to fan demands long after a project is complete. For Harington, who invested a decade of his life in portraying Jon Snow, the idea of returning to redo the finale at the behest of online petitioners was not only impractical but deeply dismissive of the work of his colleagues.

Despite his frustration, Harington has also shown a willingness to acknowledge the complexities of the show’s conclusion. In a 2024 interview he admitted that while he understood why some viewers felt the final season was rushed, he also recognized the immense physical and emotional toll the shoot had taken on the cast. Looking back at photos from the last year of filming, he said he could see how exhausted he appeared, a stark visual reminder of the demands of such an epic production.

For now, Game of Thrones continues to reverberate through popular culture. Spin-offs like House of the Dragon and other extensions of the franchise are exploring different corners of the world George R.R. Martin created, giving fans fresh stories to debate and enjoy. Whether those narratives will satisfy long-held desires for closure or expand upon the original legacy remains to be seen. Regardless, Harington’s fierce defense of Game of Thrones Season 8’s creators underscores an enduring tension between artistic ownership and fan expectations, a dynamic that is likely to shape how audiences engage with beloved stories for years to come.