Gwendoline Christie opens up about her experience playing Game of Thrones’ Brienne and whether she’d ever return to the role. Based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series, HBO’s Game of Thrones ran from 2011 to 2019. Christie made her debut as Brienne of House Tarth in the season 2 episode “What Is Dead May Never Die” before going on to appear in 41 episodes up to the series finale. At 6’3”, Christie’s character is not only an imposing figure in Westeros but an important one, thanks to an oath sworn to Catelyn Stark and her influence on Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). Her nobility results in Brienne becoming the first female knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Following the ascension of Bran "the Broken” as King of the Six Kingdoms, Brienne is appointed the new Lord Commander of the Kingsguard in Game of Thrones’ finale.
Following Game of Thrones’ incredibly divisive final season, HBO announced several prequels were in development. These shows include—but are not limited to—this year’s House of the Dragon and the working-titled Tales of Dunk and Egg, 9 Voyages, Flea Bottom, and 10,000 Ships. Recently, news broke that HBO was discussing its first Game of Thrones sequel series about Jon Snow, with Kit Harington attached to reprise his role—which has led to fans wondering what other surviving Game of Thrones characters could return to the small screen.
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant to promote Flux Gourmet, Christie discussed Brienne of Tarth. While talking about how she related to her Game of Thrones character, and how she continues to seek roles that “ignite” her, Christie was asked if she’d ever return to Westeros. Read what she had to say below:
“It's so funny, isn't it? Because I will genuinely always be so unbelievably grateful for the opportunity to play Brienne of Tarth. I love the character so much and it came about at a point in my life - it's something that had never happened before, which is that I read a character that truly spoke to me and spoke about some of my experiences and experiences of my friends that felt like they weren't being explored on television or in mainstream media.”
“And what I love now is that these opportunities, like with my project Wednesday with Tim Burton, being afforded the opportunity to be given these parts like Jan Stevens, that feel that they ignite you. And I loved Brienne so much. I also as an actor, really wanted the opportunity to do different things. And so, Jan Stevens is glorious, I think I would always be happy to revisit Brienne, but we will have to see. We will have to see. I couldn't be happier to be doing very, very different things. I love moving forward. I really love moving forward. And I hope to continue to work on what I do and be as good as I possibly can be. And for those around me.”
Similar to so many others who starred in Game of Thrones—from Harington to Emilia Clarke—Christie’s career forever changed when she was cast in HBO’s revolutionary fantasy series. In addition to Flux Gourmet and scoring roles in franchises like The Hunger Games and Disney/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars, she’s now set to star as Lucifer in Netflix’s Sandman adaptation and school principal Larissa Weems in The Addams Family spin-off/prequel, Wednesday. That said, Christie is moving forward, doing very different things, and will undoubtedly continue to be as good as she can possibly be. However, that doesn’t mean she can’t take a break from her busy schedule to cameo in an episode of the Jon Snow series.
It’s unlikely HBO will entertain the idea of sequels beyond the one focusing on Jon Snow if/when it proves successful. Not only can an excessive number of spinoffs result in diminishing returns—which is already a risk with the plethora of prequels on the docket—there’s an extraordinary amount of pressure on a continuation of Game of Thrones’ main story. As of right now, no other members of Game of Thrones’ cast are attached to the Jon Snow spin-off. Still, a series focused on Harington’s character certainly allows for brief appearances by those who survived the Mad Queen, including Sophie Turner's Sansa Stark, Maisie Williams' Arya Stark, John Bradley's Samwell Tarly, and Peter Dinklage's Tyrion Lannister. In regard to Christie’s Brienne, she could appear in the sequel series or Tales of Dunk and Egg (if the powers that be decide to confirm Brienne as a descendant of Ser Duncan the Tall).