The first, cryptic Game of Thrones season 6 teaser trailer has just been released by HBO!
The teaser is most definitely just that – a tease – as it reveals very little new information. (Unsurprisingly, the teaser puts a particular focus on Jon Snow, he of the endlessly-debated death last year.)
Related: HBO releases new Jon Snow teaser poster for Game of Thrones season 6
But what these 40-odd seconds do offer is a subtle introduction to a new and vital character who will, most likely, have a massive impact on Game of Thrones season 6. An ominous voiceover provided, we believe, by Max von Sydow, introduces Bran Stark’s Three-Eyed Raven – a man with crucial ties to the past, present, and future.
“We watch. We listen. And we remember,” the mystical figure says, as Jon Snow looks dreamily out from a landscape shrouded in gray. “The past is already written. The ink is dry.”
The Three-Eyed Raven is most likely offering Bran Stark a lesson on his new function in the story – the ability to peer through time using the ancient Weirwood trees worshipped by northerners. We last saw Bran in season 4, meeting the old man in the tree for the first time; now, he will learn to harness the vast knowledge and understanding granted by Game of Thrones‘ dense and mysterious past.
Related: Actor leaks Game of Thrones season 6 script page online
“They have no idea what’s going to happen,” Bran says, darkly concluding the Game of Thrones season 6 teaser. But perhaps he, with his newfound powers, may be able to help his siblings out of the horrific darkness into which George R.R. Martin’s story has plunged them.
Game of Thrones season 6 premieres in April.