'Game of Thrones' Update: Why Emilia Clarke Won't Return for Any Spinoff Series
After HBO commissioned five screenwriters to develop individual spin-offs of "Game of Thrones," many fans have been wondering which original cast members are returning. Alas, Emilia Clarke has no plans to return to Westeros after the show ends in 2018.
Clarke, who takes on the role of Queen Daenerys I Targaryen, said she will not be involved in the planned spin-offs. She said her character's plotline will continue through to the final episode of season eight but not further.
"I mean, I have no doubt there'll be prequels and sequels and who knows what else," the 30-year-old English actress said in one interview with The Rolling Stone. "But I am doing one more season. And then that'll be it," she added.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Clarke, who was just 23-year-old when she was cast in "Game of Thrones," admitted that she is saddened that the popular fantasy series is about to end. The actress said she is unsure about how she will feel once it ends having been a part of it since it premiered in April 2011.
"It makes me emotional to think about [leaving 'Game of Thrones']," Clarke continued. "It's my beginning, middle, and end – the single thing that has changed me most as an adult," she went on to say.
Nonetheless, Clarke promises that the upcoming season of "Game of Thrones" will not disappoint. In the next season, the Mother of Dragons' struggle to reclaim King's Landing from Queen Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) continues, but she will probably need some help.
As hinted in the 2-minute long trailer, Queen Cersei, alongside her brother/lover Jamie Lannister (Nikolai Coster-Waldau), acknowledged that the Lannisters have enemies in the East, enemies in the West, enemies in the South, and enemies in the North — and whatever stands in their way, they will definitely defeat it.
"Game of Thrones" season 7 is set to premiere on HBO on July 16.
