‘Game Of Thrones’: HBO Conspiracy And Season 7 Spoilers: Doran Martell Speaks And Get An Inside Look At The New Season

Game of Thrones may be off the air, but there’s still a potential plot twist in the works. It doesn’t involve Thrones itself, per se, so you can take joy in the fact that your surviving favorites are safe — for now.

According to Alexander Siddig, who played Prince Doran, something is definitely rotten in Westeros. As the Huffington Post notes, Siddig accused HBO of purposely leaking four Game of Thrones episodes from Season 5 online.

Emilia Clarke talks about Game of Thrones Season 7! pic.twitter.com/zpS5SsSmXL

— Daenerys Targaryen (@Daenerys) September 21, 2016

Why would HBO purposely let Thrones fans see new episodes early? The show has been so top-secret that its actors gave noncommittal answers to key plot questions in interviews, and George R.R. Martin himself dodged many an important spoiler question.

It’s possible the episodes were leaked to create hype around Game of Thrones, but since then, HBO has refrained from giving advanced screenings. But the supposed conspiracy doesn’t stop there.

Siddig also seems to think his character was killed off earlier than originally planned. He told the Daily Telegraph that there was an enormously positive response to his selection to play the Prince of Dorne. As fans of Thrones know, popular characters don’t typically get very far. Siddig thought he might also have offended someone important at HBO or been killed off because Thrones viewers liked his character so much.

It’s interesting to note that Doran and his heir, Trystane, are still alive and well in A Song Of Ice And Fire books. Why this major divergence from the novels? Will the Dornish play a larger role in the novels than they have in the Game of Thrones show? Some are predicting a massive Dornish conspiracy against House Lannister to get revenge for the events of Robert’s Rebellion. With Ellaria now in charge in the show, this seems all but certain.

HBO has drawn fire for leaked episodes before, but the network is silent about Siddig’s accusations. It seems unlikely there is actually a conspiracy given how tight-lipped HBO has been about even minor details of Thrones. Details on future seasons are rarer than a dragon egg, but HBO did release a casting call for some new actors.

Fan site Winter Is Coming was naturally all over the Thrones Season 7 leaks. One such call asks for a “venerable” priest in his 60s who has “moral authority” and an “RP accent.” RP stands for Received Pronunciation, which is standard U.K. English. The actor also has to be white, which pretty much rules out someone from southern Westeros.

A priest of the Seven seems to make sense. At the end of Season 6, the Faith Militant became so darn powerful there seems to be little choice but to convert to the Seven. However, their influence hasn’t yet spread to the Iron Islands, so a Drowned Priest is also possible. There’s also a chance we could see a male Red Priest who brings the Lord of Light across the sea.

There’s been speculation that another big battle is ahead in Season 7 of Thrones. Moviefone unearthed more casting calls that asked for men in good shape with military experience to play soldiers in Thrones Season 7.

Additionally, the men had to be ready to grow or lose their facial hair where needed. This calls to mind the outrageous hairdos of the Thenns and Dothraki. Will they become key players in the battle?

Season 7 of Thrones will take place at least partially in Spain, a locale iDigitalTimes.com mentions has been used before to show Dorne.

The Martells have a mutual interest with Dany in seeing the golden-haired Lannisters dethroned. Additionally, predictions have stated that Danerys might marry herself to Quentyn Martell for reasons of state.

It’s pretty obvious a big battle will take place, the only questions are when and where? It’s reported that Season 7 and future seasons will be shorter than before, with only 13 episodes between Seasons 7 and 8 combined.

There has also been speculation that a certain character from Season 3 could play a big part. Robert’s bastard, Gendry, was last seen rowing to safety in Season 3, but some have speculated he might return. When asked about Gendry’s importance by a fan, Martin only said, “interesting question.”

If Robert’s bastard comes back to Westeros in Season 7, it could spell disaster for Cersei and company. Not only is Gendry evidence of the painful affair Cersei wishes to forget, but he’s a close friend to Arya and might be a help to the North. Additionally, if Gendry becomes legitimized, he may have a stronger claim to the Iron Throne than any other character.

That’s all for now. Let us know your Thrones Season 7 predictions below, or go hassle George R.R. Martin to finish The Winds Of Winter.

[Featured Image By Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Live Nation Entertainment]