We’ve known for a while now Jim Broadbent would be joining the season 7 cast of Game of Thrones. In fact, we’ve known since September. The only thing we didn’t know for certain is what his role would be.
Well, unlike Jon Snow, we no longer know nothing. Jim Broadbent is going from potions master Horace Slughorn in the Harry Potter series to another master of sorts in Game of Thrones, as he’s joining the series as a maester at the Citadel.
When the news came out Broadbent would be joining the cast in a “significant role”, fans of the hit HBO series began to discuss what role he could be joining the show in. One role that continued to come up was a Citadel maester, as we’ve met just one significant character at the Citadel, and with Samwell Tarly ending last season at the Citadel, it only made sense that another maester would be joining the story soon.
Oddly enough, the source of this news is none other than Broadbent himself! The 67-year-old British actor was asked about his new role in Thrones by Screencrush when he revealed the following:
“I’m a maester, an archmaester. I’m an old professor character,” Broadbent said.
While he doesn’t specifically say a maester at the Citadel, the description he gives makes it pretty clear.
After giving away his role, Broadbent went on to talk about his role even more when it comes to how much screen time he’ll get:
“I did five episodes. I did sort of one major scene in each episode.”
A five episode role this season is significant, given that this season will only consist of seven episodes leading into the eight episode season eight (which is slated to be the final season).
Let’s speculate a little by what he means by major scene. But before I do that, here’s a warning that from here on out are some spoilers of sorts thanks to fan theories.
Broadbent said his scenes are with Tarly (played by John Bradley), which also confirms that he is the Citadel Maester Marwyn (or a character equal in stature to the famous maester in the book series). Many theories have stated that this season or next, Tarly, with the help of the Citadel Maester, will discover what Westeros needs to know to defeat the White Walkers.
It could be that Tarly and Marwyn discover this important fact while researching in the Citadel and this is the major scene Broadbent was referring to.
As for how this relates to the books, in A Feast For Crows, Sam tells Marwyn about what he’s seen beyond the wall, and that’s crucial, because Marwyn is known in the books as a maester who has traveled all over to study magic in the world. When Sam tells him this, Marwyn goes searching for Dany and her dragons, possibly because they are the weapon that can kill all the White Walkers for good.
Liam Cunningham, who plays Davos Seaworth, recently said he believes the series will premiere its seventh season in July, which means we have another four months to go before we see if Broadbent does in fact play Citadel Maester Marwyn.
Winter is coming.