‘Game of Thrones’ Season 7: Potential New Characters

The sixth season of Game of Thrones featured some of the most compelling twists and turns we’ve ever seen from the HBO series. Having finally blown past the source material books, the show was free to take certain creative liberties that it was never able to utilize before. The result: One of the best (if not the best) seasons of Game of Thrones we’ve ever seen. Part of its success was due to the introduction of a host of new characters, including Euron Greyjoy, a young Ned Stark, Ser Arthur Dayne, and Lyanna Stark.

Season 7 promises to be even crazier (if Maisie Williams’s Twitter is any indication). We even have a casting list, thanks to a report from the website, Watchers on the Wall. It calls for a whole new crop of characters, while giving us a collection of cryptic character descriptions that could mean any number of things for the upcoming run of episodes. Here’s what we were able to decode from the list of character descriptions.

1. General in the 40 to 55 age range: Lord Jon Connington

Lord Connington - A Song of Ice and Fire

Lord Jon Connington | Winteriscoming.net

HBO’s casting call asks for “a senior military officer … a white actor who uses the British RP accent.” This points toward a popular character we’ve yet to see in the series: Lord Jon Connington. In the books, Connington served as Hand of the King for the Mad King, before getting exiled to Essos after losing to Robert Baratheon at the Battle of the Bells.

Later on, he became the guardian of another surviving Targaryen, Aegon, with plans to eventually install the young prince as the ruler of Westeros. And while there’s not much room in the HBO storyline for another Targaryen heir, it would make sense to have a battle-hardened loyalist waiting for Daenerys when she arrives in Westeros.

2. Priest in his late 60s: Maester Marwyn

Samwell Tarly - Game of Thrones, Season 6

The library of the maesters | HBO

One of the more curious storylines in Game of Thrones has involved Sam’s journey to become a maester. It’s been tough to see how it connects with the quest for power that most of the characters are involved in. Sam’s story acts more as an out-of-place side-plot than a primary thread.

Season 7 could potentially show us the significance of Sam’s journey, marked by the appearance of an important character from the books, Maester Marwyn. Described by the casting call as “a venerable priest with moral authority and gravitas,” Marwyn is known for his role as a less-than-typical maester, specializing in sorcery, the occult, and spirits. He’s even encountered Sam already in George R.R. Martin’s story, tasking him with tracking down Daenerys in Meereen. All in all, it seems likely that we’ll see the strange maester at some point in Season 7.

3. Young lord in his late 20s: Rhaegar Targaryen

Rhaegar Targaryen - Game of Thrones

Rhaegar Targaryen | Karla Ortiz

Last season, a series of flashbacks showed us Ned Stark in his youth, going toe-to-toe with Ser Arthur Dayne in an attempt to rescue his sister, Lyanna. With Bran now officially assuming the role of the three-eyed raven, it seems likely that we’ll continue to get a peek at the past. That makes the casting call for a “a tall, handsome young lord” sound an awful lot like Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. It also makes sense for the show to give us more background into Rhaegar’s relationship with Lyanna, and the eventual conception of Jon Snow. That puts a potential flashback sequence to their forbidden courtship in the realm of likely events in Season 7.

4. Warrior in the 35 to 45 age range: Victarion Greyjoy

Victarion Greyjoy - Game of Thrones

Victarion Greyjoy | User “mattolsonart” on DeviantArt

Last season, we saw the beginnings of a fairly large conflict over in the Iron Islands, kicked off by Euron Greyjoy seizing the Salt Throne by killing off his brother, Balon. In the source novels, Euron has another brother, Victarion, who’s known as a fierce warrior and an accomplished commander on the high seas. This makes the need for “a tough-looking bruiser with the attack skills of a pit bull” fall right in line with Victarion Greyjoy’s demeanor in the books. Incidentally, he also holds a lifelong grudge against Euron, who impregnated Victarion’s wife, eventually leading to her death at the hands of her husband.

5. Lieutenant in his 20s: a new Dothraki commander

Khal Drogo - Game of Thrones

Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo |  HBO

Not every character needs to be someone from the novels. This particular casting call doesn’t seem to match anyone we’ve seen in George R.R. Martin’s books, leading to one obvious conclusion: it’s a new character.

The description outlines the need for a non-white “athletic, physically fit, and disciplined warrior.” According to Watchers on the Wall, this has typically meant that HBO is looking for Dothraki, and with Daenerys leading a horde of her own, she’ll need a commander who serves a role akin to what Grey Worm does for the Unsullied.

6. 16-year-old Northern girl: Lyanna Stark

Lyanna Stark - Game of Thrones

Lyanna Stark | HBO

Part of understanding the courtship between Rhaegar and Lyanna would likely involve Lyanna herself. We’ve heard the Tournament at Harrenhal described to us once before, where Rhaegar won, rode straight past his wife, and dropped the crown of flowers in the lap of Lyanna Stark. A flashback where we see this transpire would lend a fair amount of background into their relationship, a theory backed by the call for “an actress with a Northern accent to take part in what’s being called ‘a high-stakes scene with leading cast members.'” And for what it’s worth, it doesn’t get much more “high stakes” than the tournament where Rhaegar very publicly declares his love for another woman.

Follow Nick on Twitter @NickNorthwest

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