Kit Harington explains why it might be 'painful' for him to watch the 'Game of Thrones' spin-off 'House of the Dragon': 'It's so close to my heart'

• In August, Kit Harington said it may be painful to watch the "Game of Thrones" prequel.
• Harington told Insider it's tough to see others in outfits that resemble the ones he wore on "GoT."
• He'll next appear in Marvel's "Eternals," which is in theaters on November 5.

HBO's "Game of Thrones" prequel series, "House of the Dragon," is coming in 2022 and while former "GoT" star Kit Harington is excited to support it, it may be a bit of a difficult watch.

Harington previously told the Associated Press it "might be painful" to watch the highly-anticipated "Thrones" spin-off. When asked by Insider why that might be, since he doesn't have the pressure of keeping spoilers for the series anymore, Harington said, "There's emotion connected to that for me."

"I think to see people get into outfits and costumes, that resemble what we wore for all those years, and it [has] the same music and style and tone, but not be in it is always going to feel - There's going to be a rawness there," Harington said while promoting Marvel's upcoming "Eternals" movie, in which he stars as a human named Dane Whitman.

"Of course, I'm going to watch it and I'm going to support [co-showrunner] Miguel [Sapochnik], who's helming the show," Harington added. "I wish them all the best, but it's so close to my heart, that story, that, of course, there might be a bit of pain there."

Set approximately 200 years before the events of "Game of Thrones," Insider's Kim Renfro reports "House of the Dragon" will likely revolve around "the bloody Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons."

Starring Matt Smith ("Doctor Who"), Olivia Cooke, Rhys Ifans, Emma D'Arcy, and Steve Toussaint, the prequel series is based on George R.R. Martin's "Fire & Blood" book series, which catalogues House Targaryen's history.

You can read everything we know about the series here.

Harington told Insider that when it comes to protecting secrets for HBO and Marvel Studios that Marvel is definitely tougher - and Harington kept some huge "Game of Thrones" secrets, at least one of which left him feeling "unsafe" due to the amount of attention around his character after a season five cliffhanger.

"I learned along the way how to keep secrets," Harington told Insider of how his time on the HBO show helped prepare him for the MCU. "Whereas with Marvel, I'm just entering this universe and being told there's things I can or can't say. So, I'm learning as I go here."

In "Eternals," Harington has a smaller supporting role than in "Game of Thrones" as Dane, a regular guy who works at the Natural History Museum in London who learns he's dating a super-powered being, Sersi (Gemma Chan), who is thousands of years old.

That's cool until Dane learns Sersi's ex is also a super-powered Eternal who just happens to be played by Harington's former "Game of Thrones" cast mate and friend, Richard Madden. Poor Dane can't catch a break. It's a good thing he seems like a pretty decent dude with a sense of humor.

Harington told Insider he was excited about this role, in part, because it was different than some of the other ones that have come his way since starring on the HBO series.

"There's a lightness to him, which I really liked," Harington said of Whitman, while giving a brief tease that there's more of his character to come in the MCU. "There's a comedic element that was different from other stuff that I get offered and the future looked quite interesting."

"Eternals" is in theaters on November 5 and also stars Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, Don Lee, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Lia McHugh, Barry Keoghan, and Kumail Nanjiani.

You can read our review here.