‘Game of Thrones’ Star David Bradley Confirms Walder Frey’s Return, But When?

Even Game of Thrones’ worst villains have a tendency to get their comeuppance, and few have gone unpunished as long as David Bradley’s Red Wedding mastermind Walder Frey. Now, with Season 6 on the horizon, Bradley confirms that Walder Frey will return, but does a new casting report pinpoint the coming year?

Answering questions at the recent TCA press tour panel for The Strain, Bradley assured Zap2It that his character would be revisited at some point in the series, though not having been present since the third season, Bradley predictably hesitated to say exactly when:

He will be coming back, but I can’t say when. I can’t really say because things are in a delicate situation. I do look forward to it, because I do love playing someone so irredeemable. I’m afraid he makes me laugh because he’s so appalling that there’s a kind of dark humor in there somewhere.

Still, Bradley’s words arrive at an interesting time, after which Watchers on the Wall obtained a casting report for a “hapless son to a cruel father,” which many have suggested fit the Freys to a T:

This is a very good part in this season who appears in three episodes.

We need a characterful-looking guy – long nose and skeletal features and perhaps a bit sly – to play a son who is unable to live up to the demands of his savage father. We need a really good actor for this part – he has good scenes with lots of the leading cast. The character has a great storyline. There are no options and this is a one-off opportunity for a good clever actor to come and make his mark on this major hit show.

Elsewhere of Game of Thrones Season 6 (which may not prove so penultimate as we’d thought), we know that casting on a number of other new roles suggests we’ll follow Samwell Tarly on his departure from the Night’s Watch, while others seemingly confirm we’ll pick up with George R.R. Martin’s discarded Iron Islands subplots, and additional locations point to a number of flashbacks.

Thus far, screen legend Max von Sydow has been cast as the mysterious Three-Eyed Raven to a returning Bran, while Deadwood alum Ian McShane will also appear in a limited, mysterious role. Apart from a list of directors, debate continually rages as to whether Kit Harington’s Jon Snow will participate in Season 6, even as Harington can clearly be seen in Belfast, and story logistics seemingly confirm scenes set at The Wall in Season 6.

It seems more than likely that Season 6 could pick up with the Riverlands story to reintroduce Walder Frey, but is there fire to all this smoke? Game of Thrones Season 6 bows in 2016.