Former Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner has said that she won’t be watching the franchise’s latest spin-off series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, as even hearing the original show’s theme tune now gives her “crazy anxiety.”
Speaking on the red carpet for the premiere of her new Amazon Prime thriller Steal, Turner was asked if she would be tuning in to watch the just-launched A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, having previously been a central part of the Thrones universe.
Perhaps surprisingly, Turner said she couldn’t watch anything connected to Game of Thrones despite having the “best” time on the show itself — and agreed it had been a different chapter of her life.
“If I’m totally honest, anything Game of Thrones, I don’t think I can… I can’t even hear the theme tune,” Turner said, via jamesbstreet. “It gives me like… crazy anxiety. I don’t know why. I had the best time on that show, but I can’t watch anything related to it.
“But I’m really excited for all the actors on it, and I think it will probably be incredible because it is that universe,” she continued. “So, good luck to everyone involved. I won’t be watching it, but I’ll be rooting for you.”
Turner recently suggested she would be unlikely to revisit her character in any future Game of Thrones sequel, as early pre-production continues within HBO to mount the first spin-off set after the events of the original show’s controversial final season. After an earlier idea centered around Kit Harington’s character Jon Snow ended up scrapped, the network is now exploring an alternate sequel series starring Arya Stark, sister to Turner’s character Sansa, according to a recent interview with franchise creator George R.R. Martin.
“I feel that I was very happy with the way Sansa ended her story in Game of Thrones,” Turner said recently, acknowledging that also “no one else was really happy with their ending.” Of course, Sansa Stark ended up surviving the events of the show — something plenty of other characters did not — to be crowned Queen of the North. “I feel like I got a good one,” she concluded, “and so I don’t know if I could revisit it.”
Next up for Turner will be her starring role in Amazon’s new Tomb Raider series, alongside a starry cast that includes Sigourney Weaver, Jason Isaacs, Bill Paterson, Paterson Joseph and Celia Imrie, among others. Weaver will play Evelyn Wallis, a new character not featured in the original games who is described by Amazon as a “mysterious, high-flying woman who is keen to exploit Lara’s talents.”
First images of Turner in costume as Lara Croft were released last week, and show the actress dressed in the adventurer’s iconic green tank top and red shades.
As for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, early response to the series’ debut has been positive, while HBO has already greenlit the show for a second season. “With this charming season premiere, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is off to a pleasant and promising start,” IGN wrote in our A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review, rating the first episode 8/10.
Image credit: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
