Appearing in the first season and surviving all throughout until the very last episode, Maisie Williams was certainly one of the biggest stars of the hit HBO series Game of Thrones. With her fan favorite role of Arya Stark, the series even ended with a promising future for the character. However, there are no plans at HBO to see what comes next for Arya, as the franchise will instead move forward with the prequel series House of the Dragon.

Coming to HBO this summer, House of the Dragon is set in the same universe of Game of Thrones, but about 200 years earlier. This means that Williams' character is still two centuries away from being born, ruling out the possibility of Arya's return. But that's just fine for Williams, who's nevertheless anticipating the upcoming series. In fact, as she gets to enjoy the series as a fan on the other side of the curtain this time around, that makes it even better for the actress.

In a new interview with Variety, Williams touched on her Game of Thrones experience. She was asked if she was planning on watching the upcoming spinoff series, House of the Dragon, and it was an easy question for Williams. She's definitely going to be watching the series, in part to support her friend Olivia Cooke while also curious to get in on the Game of Thrones craze as a fan. As Williams explains, she was never able to relate to the fans of the series who never knew what to expect next.

"I’m really looking forward to it, actually. My friend Olivia is in it, and it’s been really interesting just chatting to her about the experience. I think it’s actually a lot more pressure. All of the hung-over concerns of our show are now just being piled onto this new cast of people who had nothing to do with it. I want to be as supportive as possible to her as an actress, but also, I’m just really curious. I’m kind of looking forward to watching Game of Thrones — even though it’s not Game of Thrones — and experiencing it as a person that’s not on it. ‘Cause all I’ve done is meet people who have done just that, and I never really was able to relate to it."

Related: What the House of the Dragon Trailer Reveals About the Show

Maisie Williams Is Ready to Explore New Roles

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HBO

Another reason Maisie Williams is happy her Game of Thrones days are over is that she can explore different kinds of roles. This includes her new role in the Sex Pistols series Pistol from director Danny Boyle. These kinds of roles are quite different from Arya Stark and that makes it all the better for Williams.

"I’ve been keen to do roles where I have some kind of physical transformation, and that explore parts of womanhood that I’ve never been able to through playing Arya. I have a more rational understanding of people and the world around me; Arya was very hot or cold, no in-between. That’s just not the way the world works! It’s quite nice now to read projects and to understand these women in a new way. Because there’s so much more that I have to give, and I could never have done with Arya."

House of the Dragon will premiere on HBO on Aug. 21, 2022.