Missing Bran Stark Already? He’ll Return In ‘Winds Of Winter,’ George R. R. Martin Hints

Bran Stark, played by Isaac Hempstead Wright, will be sadly absent from season 5 of A Game of Thrones, as you likely know if you’re keeping up with the show and the media surrounding it. If you’re worried about missing Bran, though, fear not — he’ll likely be back next season, because his character plays a role in Winds of Winter.

George R. R. Martin is reportedly working away on Winds of Winter, and every now and then, he lets a hint or two drop on his blog about what readers can expect. This week, one of those hints was about Bran Stark.

If you weren’t already aware, Kristian Nairn, who plays Bran’s pal Hodor, accidentally mentioned near the end of Season 4 that his and Bran’s storylines have come to a temporary end. Both actors will be taking the season off, according to EW, simply because Bran’s storyline is “caught up” to his book storyline.

On Martin’s blog this week, though, a fan asked if we can expect to see more of Bran’s storyline in Winds of Winter (which Martin says he hopes to finish for a 2016 release, and maybe sooner) and, without elaborating or offering any additional clues, Martin simply answered in the affirmative.

Some other information he has released recently:

• An advance chapter of Winds of Winter (following Sansa Stark, currently known as Alayne).
• He’s seen the Season Five premiere, and he likes it. (Martin says he’s not objective, but he’d surely be the best judge if the story was butchered without him working on the show.)
• He eventually plans to write a long-form Targaryen history — “years from now.” He says it will be longer than the history of the Westerlands currently available on his website.
• He will likely be releasing more excerpts on the A World of Ice and Fire app before the book is released.
• He’s skipping a few conventions in order to work on the book, but don’t worry: if it’s still listed on his appearances page he still plans to be there.

In the meantime, the character of Bran Stark, along with his traveling companions, can be presumed to be studying up on his warg skills with the three-eyed raven, and you’ll be able to catch up on his progress when Winds of Winter is released — and, of course, in season 6 of A Game of Thrones. (It’s still hard to be certain which will come first.)

[Photo by:Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]