Sean Bean may have spoiled Game of Thrones

POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT. Game of Thrones actor Sean Bean, who plays Ned Stark, may have revealed a huge plot twist by mistake during a recent interview.

SPOILER ALERT. We’re about to discuss a popular theory about the future plot of Game of Thrones. Tread carefully if you’ve never seen any GoT.

Sean Bean, who played the ill-fated protagonist Ned Stark in Game of Thrones season one, may have revealed a massive plot twist in an interview with Vulture.

“I’m obviously not Jon Snow’s dad. And you need that to be revealed at some point, don’t you?” said Bean, who was discussing the idea of returning to the show for flashback scenes in season five.

“So Bran would kind of be the one having the flashback, and he would see Ned praying, right? And revealing those things? You never know what those guys (writers David Benioff and Dan Weiss) are going to do with that. It’s got to be something special. But I’m into that.”

Has Sean Bean revealed a huge plot twist?

Jon Snow is supposedly the product of an extramarital dalliance between Bean’s character, Ned, and an unknown woman.

But fans of the show, and of the Song of Ice and Fire books upon which it’s based, have long theorised that Jon is actually someone else’s child. The most popular theory, jokingly entitled “R+L=J”, posits that he is the son of Ned’s sister, Lyanna Stark, and Rhaegar Targaryen.

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The theory certainly makes sense. Ned’s defining feature as a character is his stubborn adherence to a code of honour. His alleged frolic with someone other than his wife, Catelyn, would have been out of character to say the least.

Also, we’ve never been told the full details of Lyanna’s “kidnapping” at the hands of Rhaegar. Perhaps she ran off with him willingly.

Kit Harington as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones.

There’s much more to the theory, which you can explore further via a quick Google search if you’re so inclined.

Bean may have been drawing upon some special knowledge of the plot during that interview with Vulture, or he may simply subscribe to the “R+L=J” theory, just like thousands of the show’s fans. Either way, his comments are intriguing.