Maisie Williams is addressing persistent rumors about an Arya Stark spinoff, stating that any return to her iconic Game of Thrones role would require significant character development because she has grown up immensely since the fantasy series concluded.
Addressing the Westeros Rumors and George R. R. Martin’s Cryptic Meeting
Speculation surrounding a potential continuation for Arya Stark intensified after George R. R. Martin published a cryptic entry on his blog back in 2024. In the post, Martin wrote that he got together with Maisie Williams in London for pizza and pasta, and talked about things he preferred not to get into so as not to jinx it. This text alone was more than enough to spark speculation that an Arya Stark spinoff would come to fruition. To add more fuel to the fire, The Hollywood Reporter also claimed the project was in very early stages of development at HBO. Reports also indicated that HBO brought Drops of God creator Quoc Dang Tran aboard to work on a potential project set in Essos.
Speaking during a Sunday, September 6 interview with the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper, timed with her role in Practical Magic 2—which releases on September 10—Williams made it clear that she doesn’t know anything about such a project in reality and was just as surprised as anyone else to see the reports. Us Weekly also highlighted Williams’ response as speculation continues around the possible spinoff, and reports about a sequel gained momentum earlier this year.
“I saw that, too! I was like, huh? I don’t know, really.”
Maisie Williams, actor
Why an Older Arya Stark Needs a New Narrative Foundation
Williams was 12 years old when she was cast as Arya in Game of Thrones, and she spent much of her adolescence and formative years on the set of the hit fantasy drama, playing the character in all eight seasons. In the interview, she admitted that the first half of her 20s was just hell, attributing it to the fact that Game of Thrones was ending, not knowing what she was going to do next, needing a break, dealing with delayed teenage awkward years, and facing the COVID-19 pandemic. That personal evolution informs her perspective on reprising the role.
Because fans originally loved that Arya was always a child doing things that were quite grown-up, Williams questioned how fans would really feel about seeing an older, wiser, and much more hardened version of the character, who would now be a far cry from what she was in Game of Thrones. Therefore, an adult version would need a different emotional and narrative foundation.
“She would have to be developed in some way because I feel like I’ve changed so much, and I feel like what people loved about Arya is that she was always a child doing things that were quite grown-up.”
Maisie Williams, actor
The Shifting Landscape of Post-Thrones Development at HBO
While HBO’s hit fantasy series Game of Thrones has been given multiple prequels, there has not been a new project that is set after the events of the TV show. Westeros has persisted partly by digging into the past and looking around for parts of the universe that are less explored. Despite Game of Thrones’ controversial final season, fans have embraced House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the second season of which will come our way in 2027. Meanwhile, 2028 will be home to the final season of House of the Dragon, and the Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest movie will be released sometime after 2027, with several other spinoffs also in the works, including an animated Corlys Velaryon series.
Despite a lot of speculation that Maisie Williams will return in either a new feature film or spinoff series focused on Arya Stark, it doesn’t sound like such a project is actively in the works at this time, and Williams has not been approached about an Arya project.
