Bran Stark is All Growed-Up in First ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 6 Photo

As if the space between Game of Thrones seasons didn’t make it apparent enough that its young cast would age quicker than their literary counterparts, Isaac Hempstead Wright’s Season 5 absence set up an even more jarring change. Now, Bran Stark is back and bigger than ever in our first official Season 6 photo, with a brand-new haircut to boot.

Gone are the days of Bran Stark’s shaggy mane, or riding dear Hodor’s back (Hempstead Wright is himself about six feet now), as the first Entertainment Weekly photo sees the second-youngest Stark boy atop a horse. The sixth season of HBO’s adaptation will carry the character beyond George R.R. Martin’s published word, Bran now honing his gifts under the tutelage of the mysterious Three-Eyed Raven, this time out portrayed by cinema legend Max von Sydow.

Elsewhere of Game of Thrones Season 6, Deadwood alum Ian McShane will also appear in a limited, mysterious role, joining Richard E. Grant and The Babadook star Essie Davis as theatre troup players, four notable actors as the Tarly family, Melanie Liburd as a new Red Priestess, and Borgen star Pilou Asbæk as fan-favorite Euron Greyjoy. Apart from a list of directors, Of Monsters and Men will put in a cameo, and story logistics seemingly confirm scenes set at The Wall next year, presumably to explain this giant spoiler.

We still don’t know when exactly in April Game of Thrones will premiere, but what do we make of Bran’s new look? What else might HBO reveal on the road to 2016?