Young Ned Stark star Robert Aramayo addresses a potential return to the Game of Thrones franchise.
Before playing Elrond in Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Aramayo portrayed Ned during some of Bran Stark’s visions of the past in Game of Thrones season 6. The HBO series ended with season 8, but a prequel featuring young Ned is on the way, with a stage play titled Game of Thrones: The Mad King that will be performed in England’s Royal Shakespeare Theatre from July 20-September 5, 2026.
In an interview with ScreenRant’s Liam Crowley for Aramayo’s movie I Swear, the actor was asked if he would reprise the role of Ned, especially if HBO decides to adapt the play into a television series. Aramayo expressed how much playing Ned in Game of Thrones meant to him on both a personal and professional level, but acknowledges how much time has passed since then and indicates that he will not play the character again. Check out his comments below:
Oh, my word. I’ve never been asked that question before. I mean, that was just such an amazing part of my life. I absolutely loved playing Ned. It was great. I loved Game of Thrones. I was so excited to do. It was one of my first jobs. So I’ve got very, very good memories of it, but it was a long time ago.
All episodes of* Game of Thrones* season 6, including the ones featuring Aramayo, were released in 2016. In the decade since then, he has not only played a leading role in The Rings of Power, but has starred in the Netflix miniseries Behind Her Eyes, been in an episode of *Mindhunter *and Matthew Vaughn’s The King’s Man, and is now the BAFTA’s most recent Best Actor in a Leading Role winner for I Swear.
Given the amount of time that has passed and the evolution of his career, it is unlikely that he would play young Ned again, even if HBO does make a Mad King show. The stage prequel explores the Great Tourney of Harrenhal, where Rhaegar Targaryen publicly reveals his feelings for Lyanna Stark, and Robert’s Rebellion, the war ignited by Rhaegar and Lyanna’s actions that forever reshapes Westeros.
Aramayo’s scenes in Game of Thrones season 6 are set at the end of Robert’s Rebellion, as he goes to the Tower of Joy to find his sister Lyanna and battles the members of the Kingsguard standing in his way. When the siblings reunite, he makes a promise in her final moments that he will raise her son as his own and not reveal his true identity. The prequel’s events are set before all of these scenes.
There are already plenty of Game of Thrones spinoffs on the way or in development, but a prequel series about Robert’s Rebellion has been widely discussed in the fandom for years. It is far closer in the timeline to *Game of Thrones *season 1 than House of the Dragon or A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and has more connections to the original show. That being said, The Mad King may stay as a stage production and never be adapted for television, just as Stranger Things: The First Shadow has, although a filmed version of the production is coming to Netflix later this year.
Coming back to play Ned, who becomes a pivotal figure during Robert’s Rebellion, may also be challenging for Aramayo any time in the next couple of years, as he still has two more seasons of The Rings of Power to film. Season 3 has wrapped production and is releasing later in 2026, but the show has been guaranteed for five seasons. Elrond is a character who is confirmed to survive and remain a main character given the events further down the line in The Lord of the Rings canon, which would be another obstacle to portraying Ned in a new Game of Thrones spinoff.
**I Swear comes to U.S. theaters on April 24. **
Game Of Thrones ](/db/tv-show/game-of-thrones/)
](/tag/action-movies/)
](/tag/adventure/)
](/tag/fantasy/)
2011 - 2019-00-00
David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
David Nutter, Alan Taylor, D.B. Weiss, David Benioff
D.B. Weiss, George R.R. Martin, David Benioff