Maisie Williams Breaks Silence on Rumored Arya Stark Comeback for Game of Thrones Spinoff

Would the girl with no name find her grounds in Essos?

maisie williams arya stark spinoff game of thrones
maisie williams arya stark spinoff game of thrones

  • Primary Subject: Maisie Williams addresses rumors of a potential Game of Thrones spinoff centering on Arya Stark.
  • Key Update: HBO shifted its focus away from a Jon Snow sequel to develop an Arya Stark spinoff set in Essos with writer Quoc Dang Tran, prompting Maisie Williams to address her conditions for returning to the iconic role.
  • Status: Confirmed
  • Last Verified: September 8, 2026
  • Quick Answer: Maisie Williams expressed she's open to reprising Arya Stark, provided the script does justice to the character and takes the Game of Thrones franchise in a fresh direction.

Ever since Game of Thrones finished off with Arya Stark sailing into uncharted waters west of Westeros, fans have clamored to see where her journey would take her next.

Following reports that HBO scrapped Kit Harington's Jon Snow spinoff, leading to a project centering on Arya's story, Maisie Williams recently addressed what it would take for her to return to the franchise.

Maisie Williams on Reprising Arya Stark in Rumored Game of Thrones Spinoff

maisie williams arya stark spinoff game of thrones
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Credit: HBO Entertainment

In a recent interview with Maisie Williams for her role in Practical Magic 2, The Guardian asked the Primetime Emmy Award-winning actress about her thoughts on potentially reprising Arya Stark of Winterfell.

Williams claims not to know about the spin-off: "I saw that, too! I was like, huh?"

But added that she only had one condition if she were to be invited back to Westeros: "I don't know, really. [Arya] 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."

The rumors of an Arya spinoff trace back to when The Hollywood Reporter wrote that should the Jon Snow sequel fail to materialize, according to sources cited in the feature, one possible fix would be to include another popular character, like Arya, into the picture.

For now, little is known of the current Game of Thrones spin-offs HBO has in mind, but we can speculate what Arya Stark would have been up to after sailing from Winterfell.

What an Arya Stark Spinoff in Westeros Would Look Like

maisie williams arya stark spinoff game of thrones
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Credit: HBO Entertainment

In the flagship series' finale, Arya left her family behind to explore "what's west of Westeros," making her one of the few main characters with an open-ended future, leaving possibilities of spin-offs and sequels.

Industry reports indicate that HBO's spinoff for Arya would move away from Northern politics and shift toward Essos and uncharted sea routes, embracing her new trajectory of seeking adventures of her own.

A series focused on Arya would allow the network to venture beyond traditional Westerosi power struggles, using her training as a Faceless Man and captaining her own ship to introduce new cultures, lands, and supernatural threats across the sea.

Rather than dealing with politics in King's Landing, the story would shed more light on maritime fantasy, leaning more into Arya's independence and her drive to carve out her own destiny beyond the maps of the known world.

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