‘Game of Thrones’ Casts Ian McShane in Season 6 Mystery Role

There’s a new player coming to Westeros, but he has a familiar face.

On Thursday, HBO programming president Michael Lombardo revealed the network was eyeing at least eight seasons for Game of Thrones.

Entertainment Weekly has reported that veteran actor Ian McShane will be joining the cast of the show for season six in a role that the website’s sources describe as being of “key importance”. All that’s known about his stint on the show is that his screen time will be minimal, yet his character is extremely important to the show.

The Emmy-winning British actor is no stranger to HBO, having starred in the critically-acclaimed and much-missed Deadwood. His credits include Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Hercules, Cuban Fury, Jack and the Giant Slayer, Snow White and the Huntsman, and American Horror Story: Asylum. The actor will play an unidentified role. There are no details about what part the famously talented growler of profanities will be playing, which is fine, because it means we get to play another round of everybody’s favorite between-season Game Of Thrones game: Rampant, Unfounded Speculation! We’ll know either way when Game Of Thrones returns next year. Fortunately for fans, Martin has shared his grand plan with Benioff and Weiss.

Season six is now in production and is expected to premiere in spring 2016. No release date has been set for the sixth installment, The Winds of Winter.