Six things that will make you seriously excited for the new Game of Thrones

[Words: Sarah Hughes]

Winter is coming. Soon, honest.

In a matter of weeks the sixth season of HBO's Game of Thrones will return to our screens, painting our Monday evenings a grim shade of gore red and filling our weeks with fears of who'll be the next body added to the show's worryingly high pile of corpses.

Ahead of the new season's launch, ShortList met the cast to find out what we can expect.

We’ll finally find out the truth about Jon Snow

For the past year any conversation about Game of Thrones has been dominated by one question: is Jon Snow dead or alive? Cynics say there’s no way the show would kill off one of its few truly heroic characters plus Kit Harrington was filming in Belfast. The cast, Harrington included, insist he’s dead and gone.  “What did we need to show you people a nuclear explosion?” says Liam Cunningham who plays the upright Davos. On April 24thall will be revealed.

Even book fans are flying blind

For the last five series book fans have been able to smugly proclaim: “Well what happens now is…” Not any more. In the absence of George R R Martin’s sixth book, The Winds of Winter, all bets are off. This is the point at which Game of Thrones the TV series deviates from Game of Thrones the books and we can’t wait to see what comes next.

Cersei is out for revenge

The best bit of the trailer sees Lena Headey’s Cersei Lannister imperiously announcing to the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) ‘I choose violence.’ “My aim is to try and change people, change how they think and make them live better lives,” says Pryce. Somehow we don’t think Cersei’s listening….

Bran is back – and having visions with Max Von Sydow

The second youngest Stark was absent from our screens last year but he’s back with a vengeance in season six. “Bran is definitely the vehicle this season to look at the past and things that might be of significance to Westeros today,” says Isaac Hempstead-Wright, who plays the young seer-in-training. He’s helped on this quest by the mysterious Three-Eyed Raven aka Von Sydow. That’s right, Death himself.

The Iron Islands are coming into play

We haven’t seen much of Theon Greyjoy’s (Alfie Allen) bleak island homeland but this season they’re definitely in play. Borgen’s Pilou Asbeck, last seen fending off attacks in the dark on Stag, is playing the piratical Euron Greyjoy while Patrick Malahide’s grim patriarch Balon is also scheduled to return.

We’re nearing the end game

After five series of murder and mayhem, backstabbing and betrayal the end is inching into sight. “Each season it’s always felt as though we’re looking up at a hill but now it feels as though we’re at the top looking down,” says Maisie Williams, who plays teen assassin Arya. “It’s so exciting and so terrifying at the same time. I can’t wait for people to see.”

Game of Thrones returns to Sky Atlantic at 2am on Monday 25 April and then at 9pm the same day.