HBO has added fuel to the (night)fires by releasing a brand-new Jon Snow teaser poster for Game of Thrones season 6.
The question of Jon Snow’s continued survival — or lack thereof — has been bubbling through pop culture since Kit Harington’s character was stabbed to death in the season 5 finale. Network executives have said that Jon Snow is dead. Maisie Williams (Arya) has said that Jon Snow is dead. Harington himself has said that Jon Snow is dead (probably.)
HBO has stuck to the party line of “dead is dead” in the aftermath of those traumatic events — but the new teaser poser for Game of Thrones season 6 now gives the network a stake in the debate.
Th new Jon Snow teaser poster features a blurred and bloodied Jon, as bedraggled and long-haired as we’ve ever seen him. It’s not a very conclusive image; while the briefly-tenured Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch might be alive here, he also appears decidedly droopy, and his eyes are not visible.
One thing is for sure: Jon Snow really needs to cut his hair.
Of course, unofficial sources have been pegging Jon Snow as still among the living for months now, as filming develops on Game of Thrones season 6. But it’s interesting that HBO has decided to pick up on the controversy, especially with six months left before the epic fantasy series returns.
Related: Actor leaks Game of Thrones season 6 script page online
One definitive new piece of information from the Jon Snow teaser poster is that Game of Thrones will return in April. Martin Scorsese’s new drama Vinyl will push the series from it’s accustomed premiere early in the month to a later date (probably April 24, giving timing) but it’s nice to know that Game of Thrones fans can count on something in this world of uncertainty and violence.
Not to mention what’s going on in Westeros.
Game of Thrones season 6 will premiere in April 2016.