With over a decade gone since his last appearance in the show, Sean Bean shares his thoughts on a potential Game of Thrones return. Bean starred in HBO's mammoth fantasy series as Ned Stark, seen in season 1 as the lord of Winterfell and introduced as a main character intent on avoiding the political drama of King's Landing, only to be drawn in and put himself and his family at risk when he gets involved with royal procession. He is shockingly killed at the end of season 1, executed by the sadistic Joffrey Baratheon.

During a recent exclusive interview with Screen Rant to discuss Knights of the Zodiac, Sean Bean opened up about his potential Game of Thrones return. After confessing he has yet to watch its prequel show, House of the Dragon, the actor confirmed he would be interested in reprising his role of Ned Stark if the opportunity presented itself. See what Bean said below:

I don’t know if he’d ever be incorporated again. I’m not that clued up about the following [for House of the Dragon], I’ve heard it’s really good, I’m going to try to see that [at some point]. But yeah, it’s always nice to think that you could be involved in some way in such a great series, something that became worldwide. I don’t think at the time, we knew with Lord of the Rings how big that was going to turn out, and it was the same with Game of Thrones. If I’m ever asked again, it would be nice to be involved in some way.

How Ned Stark Could Return In GOT's Future

Sean Bean as Ned Stark in Game of Thrones

Those familiar with George R.R. Martin's original novel may have seen the writing on the wall, but for audiences who came into Game of Thrones fresh, Ned's demise at the end of season 1 proved to be somewhat of a shock considering how he had been a main character for the majority of the season. On a lighter side, some fans of the actor had been jokingly prepared for his death given Bean already had an infamous reputation of frequently dying in movies and TV shows.

Related: Every On-Screen Sean Bean DeathWhile his death didn't inherently mark the end of Ned's time on Game of Thrones, as seasons 6 and 7 saw Sebastian Croft and Robert Aramayo portray younger versions of the character, the opportunity for Bean's incarnation of the character does seem relatively minimal. The 1996 Game of Thrones novel did offer plenty of backstory for Ned, but a good portion of it was ultimately adapted during Croft and Aramayo's tenure in the show, save for his involvement in putting down Greyjoy's Rebellion, in which he was around 20 years old.

The one clear path for Bean's potential Game of Thrones return is similarly one of the riskiest for the franchise, which would be crafting new material not in the books. The final two seasons of the HBO show came under fire from its fans for this diverging, with House of the Dragon scoring far better reviews as Martin partnered with showrunner Ryan Condal to properly adapt his Fire & Blood novel. However, with Martin still working on the long-awaited Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, the author may find a way to make it happen.