Despite playing Game of Thrones‘ Daenerys Targaryen, one of fantasy’s most iconic characters, Emilia Clarke will not be returning to the genre. She portrayed Daenerys from 2011-2019, with the character’s transformation into the “Mad Queen” being one of the most divisive parts of Game of Thrones‘ ending.
While speaking with The New York Times, Clarke shared that she is finished with the fantasy genre, remarking that “You’re highly unlikely to see me get on a dragon, or even in the same frame as a dragon, ever again.”
Clarke has spoken candidly before about her thoughts on the Game of Thrones finale before, acknowledging that “I get why people were pissed.” At the same time, she clarified that as an actor, “you can’t do justice to the character that you poured your blood, sweat, and tears into for a decade without getting on the same page,” which she did in her performance, regardless of how she felt about it.
Outside of Game of Thrones, which was her breakout role, Emilia Clarke’s movies and shows include Solo: A Star Wars Story, the romantic drama Me Before You, the romantic comedy Last Christmas, the sci-fi film The Pod Generation, the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Secret Invasion, and the animated movie The Twits. She also starred in a stage production of The Seagull in London.
Clarke continues to diversify her career with Peacock’s Ponies, a spy thriller show releasing all eight episodes on January 15. She plays Bea, who, along with Twila (Haley Lu Richardson), becomes a CIA operative after their husbands are mysteriously killed. The story is set in 1977 Moscow and is Clarke’s first leading role in a series since Game of Thrones.
In her conversation with The New York Times, she admitted questioning the prospect of playing a television lead again, as she “know[s] what that commitment feels like.” Ponies co-creators Susanna Fogel and Davis Iserson helped make her feel comfortable by giving her the choice of playing Bea or Twila, which made Clarke feel as though “they were giving me a voice, which doesn’t always happen.”
Even though Clarke says she’s done with the fantasy genre, the franchise she helped make a popular culture phenomenon continues to expand, with numerous Game of Thrones spinoffs being released, in development, or rumored. In 2026 alone, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms debuts, followed later in the year by House of the Dragon season 3.
George R.R. Martin, who wrote the source material Game of Thrones is based on, has also teased “a sequel or two” in development. This has led to speculation about a potential sequel where Daenerys is resurrected and Clarke reprises the role, but none of this is confirmed. Clarke’s remarks also make it clear that even if it were to happen, she wouldn’t be interested in playing the Mother of Dragons again and riding Drogon once more.
- Release Date
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2011 – 2019-00-00
- Showrunner
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David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
- Directors
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David Nutter, Alan Taylor, D.B. Weiss, David Benioff
