There have been many fan theories that have popped up over the course of Game of Thrones seven seasons, from thoughts that either Cersei will become the Mad Queen or Daenerys will follow the path of her crazed father and earn that title to Tyrion being a Targaryen. One theory that has been making the rounds among fans in recent months is the belief that Brandon Stark is the Night King. Isaac Hempstead Wright, the actor who plays Bran on the show, was a bit ambiguous with his thoughts on that premise.
In an oversimplified nutshell, the theory goes that Bran, believing he can put an end to the White Walkers in the past, wargs into a man who turns out to become the Night King, but Bran becomes trapped in his body. Bran made a big transformation in Season Seven, becoming the Three-Eyed Raven who now has access to all of Westeros history via his visions.
'Game of Thrones' Season 7: Who Died, Who Lived, What We Learned18 Great Bruce Springsteen CollaborationsJeff Buckley's 'Grace': 10 Things You Didn't Know
Wright called the idea of his character being the Night King far-fetched, but he was also ambiguous when asked about the theory in an interview with Mashable.
To be honest, Im finding it a little far-fetched, but then again, I wouldve thought the Hodor theory far-fetched if Id seen that on an Internet forum, he said. I dunno, there are so many theories in Game of Thrones and so many things that are gonna begin to tie up next season, I think itll be interesting to see.
He also addressed the theory in an interview with Vulture. I think its less that theyre the same person and more that theyre two of the ancient beings of Westeros. The Three-Eyed Raven has been around for God knows how long, and White Walkers have been reported since the beginning of time, Wright said. As weve seen, they were created by the Children of the Forest, so we cant get much more ancient than that.
Perhaps we can think of it as these are two characters with a huge amount of power, but one is a Frankensteins monster who is driven by nothing but hatred and violence. Then theres Bran, who uses his powers for good, he continued. I want to find out why the Night King is so obsessed with destroying mankind. Well see whether they have any kind of explanations in the next season.
So while Wright didnt paint the theory as very plausible, he didnt fully dismiss it out of hand, either. One thing is certain, its all just speculation until HBO airs the series final eighth season, which may not happen until 2019.
