‘Game Of Thrones’: Who Will Ian McShane Bring Back From The Dead?

Game Of Thrones‘ latest cast addition, British actor Ian McShane, recently leaked some precious information to spoiler-thirsty fans of the show, which is scheduled to come back for its sixth season in 2016.

The 73-year-old, recently seen in Snow White And The Huntsmen, and best known for his role in HBO’s Deadwood, will only appear in one episode, although the channel hasn’t revealed who his character is yet.

“I’ll give you one hint,” the actor told Pop Goes The News on Thursday.

“I am responsible for bringing somebody back that you think you’re never going to see again. I’ll leave it at that.”

He also said that his character’s “a one-off episode.”

Game of Thrones’ fans have been speculating on which character exactly McShane could possibly bring back since the announcement was made. Although he’s apparently not getting much screen time and only appears in one episode, McShane’s character will be of utmost importance.

Fans’ first reaction, and what may seem like the obvious answer due to the way season 5 ended, was that McShane’s announcement confirmed the return of Jon Snow. The Night’s Watch Lord Commander was last seen lying in a pool of blood after being betrayed and stabbed to death by his followers.

However, the devastating cliffhanger did not leave fans doubting Harington’s return very long. Shortly after the season finale aired, tons of posts already speculated Jon Snow would be back for the next season — saved by Melisandre, who, as a red priest, has the ability to bring the dead back to life.

Another option of survival for Jon Snow is to warg into Ghost, his direwolf, the same way Bran warged into his own, and Orell, the wildling, warged into an eagle. The theme has been explored before, meaning this is a viable option for Harington’s character — although the details of what him coming back as Ghost would imply aren’t too clear yet.

Either way, Jon Snow’s return is almost not in question anymore — or at least not since photos of Kit Harington on set in Belfast have been doing the social media rounds. Here he is photographed with co-star Ben Crompton, who plays his Night’s Watch colleague, Eddison Tollett.

Kit Harington with Game of Thrones co-star Ben Crompton walking around in the streets of Belfast. pic.twitter.com/mtbtguHDHE

— Jon Snow (@LordSnow) July 22, 2015

Another character fans could be hoping to see return to their screens for Game of Thrones‘ sixth season is Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley), who they say could be resurrected as Lady Stoneheart. According to Watchers On The Wall, who use the books to make educated guesses, Lady Stoneheart and the Hound were both strong possibilities.

Although Lady Stoneheart has not yet been introduced in the HBO show, author George R.R. Martin has expressed on multiple occasions that her importance was not to be underestimated.

Game of Thrones might not have introduced the character of Lady Stoneheart, but author George R.R. Martin has long maintained that it doesn’t mean she’s not an important character. In the book A Storm Of Swords, Beric Dondarrian gives his life up to bring Catelyn Stark from the dead, three days after she is killed in the Red Wedding. In the book, she returns as Lady Stoneheart, an injured and mute version of her old self, consumed by the desire for vengeance over her family’s betrayal and murder. This whole plot has not yet made it to the screen under HBO’s Game of Thrones.

On top of all the fan speculations, and although most actors have been trying their best not to give away too much of Game of Thrones‘ next season, Kit Harington recently said the show was going to be part of his life until he is in his thirties. He is still 28, so this may give us some more Jon Snow time.

Daenerys actress Emilia Clarke has been trying to get fans off piste, telling Entertainment Tonight that Harington’s presence on set — in costume — could be explained because he missed his co-stars too much.

“I think that he loves us, I think that he misses us, and I think that we like to mess with those people who are snooping around our set, trying to get information that they don’t really want to know,” she said.

This Twitter post has raised other rumors — although it’s not clear whether the actresses are taking part in a photoshoot or actually filming together. Here, Emilia Clarke, Natalie Dormer, and Lena Headey – who play Daenerys Targaryen, Margaery Tyrell, and Cersei Lannister respectively — are seen together in what could potentially be an incredible spoiler.

CHAN CHAN pic.twitter.com/u6EAwPuAey

— Juego de Tronos™ (@JuegoDeTronosTM) October 20, 2015

Game of Thrones season 6 is expected to air in the spring of 2016.

[Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images]