Game of Thrones is renowned for its merciless disposal of main characters, but Nikolaj Coster-Waldau believes some of the main cast could even be turned into undead Wights in season 8. When Game of Thrones season 7 concluded, the war between the living and dead had truly been kicked up a notch, as the Night King used one of Daenerys Targaryen's dragons to bring down The Wall, allowing his forces to continue their unfathomably slow march south.
In order to gain the power of said dragon, The Night King used his ability to transform corpses into undead minions - otherwise known as Wights - and it is these creatures that make up the bulk of the threat from beyond the wall. This ability was memorably showcased in all its zombified glory during "Hardhome" in front of a horrified Jon Snow. The Night King also possesses the power to turn humans into White Walkers but seemingly only if he can get to them during infancy, as seen with Craster's child.
Related: How Game of Thrones' VFX Brought the Dead To Life
According to Nikolaj Coster-Waldau - the man behind Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones - it's inevitable that some of the main cast will be "turned" in the forthcoming final season and the actor very much hopes he isn't among that group. Speaking with Esquire, Coster-Waldau stated:
"The fear is that I would be turned into one of those undead. That would suck. You know some of the main characters are going to get turned. There are going to be some blue-eyed main characters running around. And, god, I hope it's not me. That's three hours of make-up in the morning."
Certainly, it's difficult to argue with the actor's logic. Game of Thrones revels in delivering memorable, yet heartbreaking, moments (The Red Wedding, Hold The Door, etc.) and the opportunity to turn a much-loved character into a mindless member of the enemy forces is likely to prove too tempting to turn down for showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. However, it does seem as if the duo will first need to find an actor willing to clock in three hours early.
The natural question raised by such a possibility is who exactly is going to be turned? The likes of Jon Snow and Daenerys are too central to the plot and other characters such as the Clegane brothers and Cersei Lannister seem destined for different demises. Jaime could well be considered a prime contender then, but with Tyrion possibly primed to betray Dany and Jon, perhaps an icy undead fate awaits the much-loved character. After all, many fan theories believe Tyrion will eventually prove to be one of the fabled "three heads of the dragon." No one said that dragon had to be alive.
NEXT: 15 Hints You Missed in Game of Thrones Season 7
Game of Thrones season 8 premieres in either 2018 or 2019 on HBO.
Source: Esquire