The “Game of Thrones” Season 6 release date has been announced by HBO, although only the month and year (April 2016) were given. Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) returns to reveal what he has been up to since the finale of GOT 4, where he finally meets the Three-Eyed Raven.

Meanwhile, the possible return of Jon Snow (Kit Harington) is a hot topic among GOT fans. The official Twitter page of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” carries a photo of a bloodied Jon Snow on the cover, as if inviting viewers to speculate on what happens next. Is Jon Snow alive, after all? Out of all the theories involving the beloved Snow, two of the most popular ones involve warging and the assistance of Melisandre (Carice van Houten).

As anticipation peaks for “Game of Thrones” Season 6, the book reading fans could barely wait for George R.R. Martin’s “Winds of Winter,” the sixth book in his series, “A Song of Ice and Fire” (ASOIAF). In earlier interviews with the media, the famous author had blamed the book’s delay on “distractions.”

Martin has been traveling, speaking before crowds of ASOIAF fans around the world. Despite persistent rumours that “Winds of Winter” will be released in 2016, no official announcements have been made on the matter.

There is little chance that the HBO adaptation will spoil the character developments for the book readers. “Winds of Winter” and “Game of Thrones” Season 6 may be taking the fans’ favourite characters to different paths.

David Benioff and Dan Weiss have already started exploring plot turns away from the published books for “Game of Thrones.” The HBO show bosses have more room for creative interpretation now that the public has yet to see “Winds of Winter.”

WATCH: ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 6 teaser on Twitter

Bran Stark’s voice is heard toward the end of the HBO teaser, thrilling the Stark followers. However, some fans are worried the showrunners would bring Bran back only to kill him off. Twitter and forum sites are overflowing with theories. Most of these will be confirmed by June 2016, when “Game of Thrones” Season 6 ends.

“I missed the whole of the last season because it was right in the middle of my exams, so I didn’t have the time to watch it. But I’m looking forward to getting with some friends and binge-watching it all,” Isaac told Irish Examiner back in July.

The young actor added Bran has “some interesting visions.” Bran Stark’s new look has been teased recently on Entertainment Weekly. A lot of fans have commented that his hair looks a lot better now.

There was also a lot of talk regarding Harington’s hair after the finale of “Game of Thrones” Season 5 aired in June this year. He has reportedly cut his hair short because it's over for Jon Snow. But Harington's hair had grown back just when filming was set to begin for Season 6. With all the hype on Twitter, Reddit and other social media sites, fans are more than ready to find out whether Jon Snow is really dead.

“Game of Thrones” Season 6 is expected to have some character developments from the fourth and fifth books of ASOIAF, “A Feast for Crows” and “A Dance with Dragons,” respectively. The new season is also expected to veer away from the books in many ways.

RELATED STORIES