Sean Bean
Sean Bean (pictured) believes Jon Snow (Kit Harrington, not pictured) is gone for good on "Game of Thrones." Pictured: Bean at the panel for TNT's "Legends" at New York Comic Con on Oct. 8, 2015, in New York City. Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images

Before the Red Wedding, or the Purple Wedding, or any of the other surprise deaths in HBO's "Game of Thrones," there was Ned Stark losing his head in Season 1. The loss of Sean Bean's Stark patriarch set the bar for a series that quickly gained a reputation for its willingness to off its own stars. That might make Bean the perfect person to weigh on in the whole Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) controversy. Unfortunately, what the actor had to say about the big Season 5 cliffhanger does not bode well for the ill-fated Lord Commander.

At a U.K. press conference Monday for Bean's ITV Encore series "The Frankenstein Chronicles," the English actor was asked if he thought Snow could have survived that mutinous stabbing in the "Game of Thrones" Season 5 finale.

"It kind of didn't look like it, I have to admit, but who knows," said Bean, according to Daily Express. "Anything could happen. I guess that's the big question. It used to be: 'Who's Jon Snow's dad?' Now it's: 'Is Jon Snow really dead?' But I think he probably is. What do I know?"

That echoes comments by series stars Emilia Clarke, Maisie Williams, and even Carice Van Houten -- Van Houten plays Melisandre, a character central to many of the "Jon Snow is alive" theories -- who have all sounded pretty pessimistic about any Jon Snow revival. However, actor Kit Harrington has been spotted on the Season 6 set, even appearing to be in costume with his trademark long hair.

Interestingly enough, Ned Stark, Bean's character is coming back next season, even if Snow is not. In August it was revealed that "Game of Thrones" had tapped 13-year old Sebastian Croft to fill Sean Bean’s big shoes in the role of a young Ned Stark in a Season 6 flashback scene. The scene will feature a sparring session between Stark and an older boy. Perhaps the scene will hold some clues to the parentage of Jon Snow. It has long been rumored among fans that Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark are the late-Night’s Watch Lord Commander’s true parents, not Ned Stark and an unknown prostitute. The death (and possible return) of Jon Snow could present an opportunity for the show to either confirm or debunk the popular “R+L=J” theory.

"Game of Thrones" Season 6 will premiere in Spring 2016 on HBO.

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