HBO's Game of Thrones has more than its fair share of strong female characters, but this year it introduced one of its most memorable new faces in Bella Ramsey's Lyanna Mormont, the fierce young leader of Bear Island. Joining forces with Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) to help retake Winterfell from the clutches of Ramsay Bolton, Mormont's fiery attitude and strength even when surrounded by men and women three times her size quickly made her one of the season's fan-favorite characters.

Mormont's role in the season didn't end there though, with her going on to give a rousing speech that helped to convince all of the other Northern lords to pledge their service to Jon, as the new King in the North. Thanks to some new set photos from the show's season 7 production, we now have confirmation that Ramsey will be reprising her role as Mormont in Game of Thrones' highly anticipated return next year.

The set photos come from PAP4U, which show Ramsey exiting her hair and makeup trailer on set in Northern Ireland, in her full Game of Thrones wardrobe.

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The images are said to have been taken around the same time that Kit Harington, Gwendoline Christie, Liam Cunningham, and some of the show's other stars were confirmed to be in the area, which means we can take this as an unofficial confirmation that Lyanna Mormont will be returning next season after all.

This isn't necessarily all that surprising, considering how much of a fan-favorite Lyanna ended up being in the latest season, though the size of the role for the other Northern Lords not named Stark in the new season isn't clear as of right now. Aside from meetings regarding the impending White Walker attack, or the possible emergence of Daenerys Targaryen and her army in Westeros, there doesn't seem to be that much of an obvious need, as of right now, for the other Northern Lords to have a large role right away following the Battle of the Bastards last season.

Based on where season 6 left off though, there is also the possibility for more friction in Winterfell between Jon and Sansa than either would probably like. Depending on the severity of the rift between the Stark children, it could be something that calls for intervention from the other Northern Lords. Whether or not she ends up having a large role in the new season, or has a one-off appearance, Game of Thrones fans everywhere can take comfort in knowing that they won't have to wait very long to see the memorable leader of Bear Island return onscreen again.

Game of Thrones will return with season 7 on HBO in summer of 2017.

Source: PAP4U (via Watchers on the Wall)