It appears "Game of Thrones" fans are in for an equally curious and exciting season as Ian McShane is cast for a new role, as reported by Entertainment Weekly.
Since the hit HBO TV series has already caught up to the six books in George RR Martin's "The Song of Fire and Ice" saga, the former "Deadwood" star's role remains a mystery for book and TV fans alike. The production team refuses to spill any beans to the public regarding McShane's role and GoT Season 6. EW, however, learned exclusively that his role will be a small yet significant one.
British actor, director, producer, and voice artist Ian David McShane is an Emmy-nominated actor for the HBO series "Deadwood." He also won the Golden Globes Award for Best Actor for the same drama. With these recognitions under his belt, it is no wonder why his inclusion in the upcoming season is a highly-anticipated one.
After "Deadwood", he starred in several mainstream movies such as "Kung Fu Panda" (as Tai Lung, of which he was nominated for the Annie Award Best Voice Acting), "Pirates of the Caribbean" (as Blackbeard), "Snow White and the Huntsman", and "Hercules", among many others.
New episodes of GoT are set to air in spring, Time notes. While it has been explicitly shared that the showrunners would like to end the show after seven seasons, HBO Programming President Michael Lombardo is optimistic about GoT going beyond the desired number of runs.
During the Television Critic's Press Tour last Thursday, a reporter asked Lombardo if the show would come to a close after seven seasons, said EW in a separate report.
"Seven-seasons-and-out has never been the [internal] conversation. The question is: How much beyond seven are we going to do? Obviously we're shooting six now, hopefully discussing seven. [Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss are] feel like there's two more years after six. I would always love for them to change their minds, but that's what we're looking at right now," he replied.
In a blog post published last March, author George RR Martin states that he is open to ten seasons of GoT. "I allowed that ten years sounded fine to me. I continue to hear similar sentiments from HBO every time I have a meeting with them, be it in LA or New York." Currently, Martin is working on the 6th instalment of the internationally well-received and followed saga.
