John Bradley, who played Samwell Tarly on HBO’s hit fantasy series Game of Thrones, is sad that he won’t be returning as the character in the upcoming Westeros prequel, House of the Dragon. The show follows House Targaryen during their civil war, 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones. House of the Dragon features a cast of characters from George R.R Martin’s “Fire and Blood”. Its ensemble cast includes Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Graham McTavish, Paddy Considine, Eve Best and Milly Alcock.
Bradley’s Samwell started out as a supporting character on Game of Thrones and quickly became a fan favorite, due to his touching romantic storyline with Gilly (Hannah Murray). The character also had a close relationship with Jon Snow (Kit Harington) due to their brotherhood together on the Night’s Watch. When the much-maligned Game of Thrones season 8 ended in 2019, HBO was considering spinoffs, prequels and ways to expand the Westeros universe, with George R.R. Martin’s close involvement. One of those ideas was a The Long Night prequel set a thousand years past, following the First Men, which was set to star Naomi Watts, but was ultimately canned before it could complete production.
Bradley, who was interviewed by Screen Rant for his work in Roland Emmerich's Moonfall (in theaters February 4) was asked about his role in Game of Thrones, and his thoughts on House of the Dragon. Bradley stated that it would be “very strange” to watch a Game of Thrones show from his couch, rather than starring in it. He admitted that “there’s going to be a tinge of sadness” that the original cast won’t be involved, but praised showrunner and creator Miguel Sapochnik, saying the show is “in such great hands.” Check out the full quote here:
“It's going to be very strange. It's a bit like when you move house, and you go back to your old house, and you see other people have moved in and what they've done with it and the way they've changed it. It's going to be a strange experience, but it's going to be a happy experience. I'm so happy to see that universe expanding, and it's in such great hands with Miguel Sapochnik, who did so many of our great episodes of the show. I think it's going to be a bittersweet experience. But I really hope it does well because there's so much potential for that universe to expand in all sorts of directions. Miguel's the right man to do it. Great cast there, Matt Smith, and so many other fun people. I think it's going to be great, but there's going to be a tinge of sadness that none of us are involved, I think.”
Though House of the Dragon won’t involve any characters from Game of Thrones, the show is still a wonderful opportunity to expand the property's already-vast world, and to deepen its mythology. The Targaryen civil war is a period in the show’s history often mentioned, but never seen. Fans of Daenerys will have the opportunity to see the family that lead to the Mother of Dragons’ historic actions in the Seven Kingdoms.
Bradley’s comment was good-natured and with the best of wishes and intentions toward the House of the Dragon prequel. Many fans would have loved to see the Game of Thrones story continue, or even redone (fans petitioned aggressively for a redo of Thrones season 8 after backlash to the way the show ended). However, with the recent news that Game of Thrones was one of the most pirated shows in 2021, it’s easy to see why HBO is so eager to continue. The show hinted at several potential avenues, and methods toward continuation—the most obvious a spinoff involving Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), who vowed to explore whatever was “west of Westeros” in the season eight finale. It would be interesting, as well, to catch up with Samwell Tarly after the events of season eight, and follow his storyline further. However, there are no immediate plans to continue the Game of Thrones story, with any of the characters. Fans of Westeros will have to get their dragon-fantasy fix when House of the Dragon hits HBO, sometime in 2022.