Game of Thrones has killed off a character George R.R. Martin has big plans for

Season 6 of Game of Thrones is going to be all the more interesting now we've past the timeline of George R. R. Martin's books. Not that they ever helped that much anyway! You might be surprised how many things the TV show changed from the original source material. In fact, author George R. R. Martin recently revealed that the show has already killed off a character he has major plans for in his next book.

Speaking with IGN about an upcoming twist in his new novel Winds of Winter, Martin said: "I have decided to do that, yes. Will you know it? I don’t know. It’s fairly obvious, because it’s something that involves a couple of characters, one of whom is dead on the show, but not dead in the books. So, the show can’t do this, unfortunately, because they’ve killed a character that I have not killed. But that doesn’t narrow it down much, because at this point, there are like, fifteen characters who are dead in the show who are still alive in the books."

For those who haven't fully caught up on Game of Thrones (what are you waiting for?!) we won't get specific as to who the likely candidates may be, but suffice to say there are A LOT to choose from. Whoever it turns out to be, here's hoping they survive longer on the page than they did on screen.

Season 6 of Game of Thrones premieres on HBO on April 24, 2016 in the US, and airs on Sky Atlantic the next day in the UK.

Images: HBO

Amon Warmann

Amon is a contributing editor and columnist for Empire magazine, but is also a Film and TV writer for GamesRadar+, Total Film, and others. He has also written for NME, Composer Mag, and more, along with being a film critic for TalkSport. He is also the co-host of the Fade to Black Podcast, and a video mashup creator. Can also do a pretty good Bane impersonation.