Ian McShane Confirm His ‘Game of Thrones’ Character Will Resurrect ?

Game of Thrones Season 6 has enough mysteries on its plate to fill a banquet, but one among them has gone largely overlooked. We may not know who Deadwood alum Ian McShane will play in his brief appearance, though new word suggests he may have something to do with returning a fan-favorite character into the mix.

You’re warned of potential Game of Thrones Season 6 (and book) spoilers from here on out, but McShane reportedly offered at least some clues of his appearance to Pop Goes the News (Via Vanity Fair), saying “I am responsible for bringing somebody back that you think you’re never going to see again. I’ll leave it at that.” Not only that, but:

[It’s] a one-off episode. That’s why I did it. But I can’t reveal anything, otherwise I will never work again.

Now, most would take that to imply Jon Snow, despite the presumption that Melisandre will have something to do with his (overwhelmingly presumed) resurrection, but the Song of Ice and Fire sleuths at VF had a different suggestion. McShane would nicely fill the earlier casting call of “a man in his 40s or 50s. A gruff ex-soldier who found religion. Now a no-nonsense rural priest who ministers to the poor of the countryside. He’s salt-of-the-earth man who has weathered many battles.”

Innocuous enough on its own, though many have speculated this role to be that of literary character Septon Meribald (or Elder Brother), a religious figure Brienne encounters on The Quiet Isle in search of Sansa Stark. Said figure also relays the ultimate end and burial of The Hound, though - SPOILER ALERT - a prevailing fan theory posits that a tall, hooded gravedigger at the scene is none other than The Hound himself, only metaphorically dead, despite the monk’s claims.

That would certainly fit rumors that Rory McCann has been spotted in Belfast hotels, but it’s hard to say if HBO’s Game of Thrones would devote such intrigue (and an actor of Ian McShane’s caliber) to such a relatively small return.

Elsewhere of Game of Thrones Season 6, screen legend Max von Sydow has been cast as the mysterious Three-Eyed Raven to a returning Bran, joining Richard E. Grant and The Babadook star Essie Davis as theatre troup players, four notable actors as the Tarly family, Melanie Liburd as a new Red Priestess, and Borgen star Pilou Asbæk as fan-favorite Euron Greyjoy. Apart from a list of directors, Of Monsters and Men will put in a cameo, and story logistics seemingly confirm scenes set at The Wall next year, presumably to explain this giant spoiler.

We still don’t know exactly when Game of Thrones will premiere, but what other revelations might Season 6 endure on the road to 2016?