The much awaited "Game of Thrones" season 6 will not just have "Deadwood's" Ian McShane in a new mystery role, but also the veteran actor Max von Sydow of "The Exorcist" joining the cast as Three-Eyed Raven.
Sydow will play the role of Three-Eyed Raven, Bran Stark's mystical tutor, a character with a very brief appearance in season 4 finale and was portrayed by Struan Rodger, according to Entertainment Weekly.
The "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" star will more likely have less screen time, just like McShane, whose character is yet to be revealed. Sydow is said to have already started filming for the next season, while there is no word about McShane's role. However, both the roles are reported to be of pivotal importance in the season.
This is not the first instance that the series has recast a character as the role of Princess Myrcella Baratheon went to Nell Tiger Free in the last season, which was played by Aimee Richardson.
In other news, the "Game of Thrones" series will have at least two more seasons, as HBO's programming president Michael Lombardo said the network is planning for at least eight seasons.
Nevertheless, Lombardo also did not rule out the possibility of having a potential prequel series for "Game of Thrones," as he said "[T]here's enormous storytelling to be mined in a prequel," he admitted, "if [George R.R. Martin] and Dan and David decide they want to tackle that. At this point, all the focus is on the next few years of the show. We haven't had any conversations about that at this point," Variety reported.
He also shot down the rumors of Jon Snow (Kit Harington) returning from the dead as he said "Dead is dead is dead is dead. He be dead. Yes. Everything I've seen, heard or read, Jon Snow is dead," squashing the hopes of fans after seeing Harington in Belfast, with fellow "Game of Thrones" cast members.