With the new year just around the corner, that means we’re even closer to the next season ofGame of Thrones, which will debut sometime in April 2016. This season will mark the long-awaited return ofBran Stark(Isaac Hempstead-Wright), who was featured in a new photo that debuted yesterday. Today, the young actor spoke withEntertainment Weekly, shedding light onSeason 6, which he compared toChristopher Nolan’s 2010 blockbusterInception.
We last saw Bran and his traveling companion Hodor (Kristian Nairn) at the end ofGame of Thrones Season 4, when they reached the Weirwood Tree that Bran had seen in his visions, and finally met the Three-Eyed Raven. It was revealed long beforeSeason 5aired that both Bran and Hodor would be skipping that season, since the show had caught up to their story lines inGeorge R.R. Martin’s novels. While he’s been away, Bran has been training with theThree-Eyed Raven(Max von Sydow) to hone his Greensight, which allows him to see events from the past, present and future. The actor explained that this new season will feature glimpses at important events in Westeros history.
“Previously Bran’s seen tiny glimpses of future or past but never has he been very much in control in the situation. Now we’re given looks into very important events in the past, present and future of this world and Bran is beginning to piece them together like a detective, almost as if he’s watching the show. Equally, he’s now discovering how crucial he could be in the Great War. It’s quiteInception-y.”
Series creatorsDavid BenioffandD.B. Weissrevealed long ago that the show would never employ the use of flashbacks, a rule that they actually broke right away inSeason 5. The first scene of the season featured a young Cersei visiting a fortune teller, who shed light on her future. With the return of Bran and his new Greensight abilities, it seems that fans will be given even more flashbacks inGame of Thrones Season 6. The actor also spoke about how he felt whenDavid BenioffandD.B. Weisssaid they wanted to see him, since that usually means a character is about to be killed off.
“When I first heard the news Dan and David wanted to have a chat with me, I was like, ‘Oh no!’ Usually that’s to tell you [your character is] dead. So comparatively, missing a season was like, ‘phew!’ And they’re exactly right. I would have just been sitting in a cave going, ‘Oh, I can nearly do it now.'”
The actor also compared his hiatus toLuke Skywalker’s transition from aJeditrainee inStar Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Backto a fully-trained Jedi warrior inStar Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi. Since his one-season hiatus, the 16-year-oldIsaac Hempstead-Wrighthas grown to nearly six feet tall, and he has cut his hair much shorter since we last saw him journeying north of The Wall. The actor did shed some light on working withMax von Sydow, and how he makes each line sound so important.
“There are certain lines that you think are almost fillers, like, ‘He’s over there,’ but whenMax von Sydowsays them, he can make it sound like it’s the most important news you’ve ever heard.”
The revelation that fans will see key moments of Westeros history, courtesy of Bran Stark’s Greensight, could explain the mysterious presence ofKit Haringtonon the set earlier this year. The actor’s beloved character Jon Snow was killed off at the very end ofSeason 5, fueling much speculation about his fate inSeason 6, with some theorizing that he could be resurrected by Melissandre (Carice van Houten). It’s possible that these flashbacks could answer, once and for all, who Jon Snow’s mother really is, but we’ll have to wait and see. What do you think about these new details forSeason 6ofGame of Thrones?
