Game of Thrones’s Kit Harington predicts best ruler for the Seven Kingdoms – and it’s not Jon Snow!

Game of Thrones‘ Kit Harington has revealed who he thinks should sit on the Iron Throne.

The Jon Snow actor was speaking at the Giffoni Film Festival in Italy, where he received the Giffoni Experience Award.

Speaking about the series’s infamous authority battle, Harington said: “I don’t think Jon Snow will ever become king, he’s not ambitious enough for that, but I could see Tyrion sitting on the Iron Throne: I’ve always considered him the right person to rule over the Seven Kingdoms.”

While he doesn’t think Jon has the chops to rule the Seven Kingdoms, he did admit he is a big fan of his character. He gushed: “What I like most of my character is the fact that he’s always siding with the weakest. He’s a man of action and I like fighting in movies. That’s why this show fits me so well.”

However, Harington briefly believed he had finished with Game of Thrones altogether after a season five finale cliffhanger saw his character brutally stabbed to death by his own men.

“When I read the script of the 5th season, which ended with something like: ‘Jon Snow dies with his black curls’, I tried to react without panicking and started waiting for an official mail of dismissal from the production, but a week went by, then two and three and nothing happened, until I was eventually summoned by the producers.

“I thought: ‘That’s it: they will either ditch me or tell me that somehow Jon is rising from the dead’. Luckily, the latter supposition proved to be right, but I was imposed the utmost confidentiality because only for people, including me, knew the forthcoming development of the plot. I took a great leap and shouted: ‘Yeah! What a relief!'”

Jon Snow has gone from strength to strength since he was revived from the dead in season five, finishing last season as King of the North.

Season seven so far has seen him struggle with satisfying the Lords of the North and quarrel with his (believed) sister Sansa over leadership.

PREVIEW: Westeros reacts to Daenerys’s arrival in Game of Thrones S7 E2

The trailer for next week’s second episode of Game of Thrones is here.

Premiering on Monday night’s Game of Thrones reaction show Thronecast, the new trailer hints at developments to come in episode two.

The first episode of season seven divided fans and critics. Some described ‘Dragonstone’ as a solid start to the season, while others complained about its lack of pace. During the episode, Arya took revenge for the Red Wedding, Ed Sheeran enjoyed an extended cameo appearance and returned home.

The trailer picks up where the episode left off, with the authorities of Westeros reacting to the return of the Dragon Queen. News of Dany’s arrival has reached King of the North Jon Snow, whose subjects tell him she should not be trusted. Is Dany offering Jon an alliance?

Meanwhile, Cersei is informing her subjects that Daenerys will destroy the realm. It certainly looks like Cersei’s in trouble, because Dany’s naval ally Yara Greyjoy suggests the Mother of Dragons should take out King’s Landing first.

Elsewhere, we catch a glimpse of a shocked Arya and another of a wolf. Could this be Arya’s long-lost direwolf Nymeria, who was forced to run away back in season one?

Yara Greyjoy and Ellaria Sand also share a kiss in the action-packed trailer, and someone grabs Littlefinger by the throat. We can only hope Lord Baelish will get his comeuppance.

REVIEW: Game of Thrones S7 E1 ‘Dragonstone’ wastes precious time meandering

Please be aware this post contains spoilers for Game of Thrones season seven episode one ‘Dragonstone’, which first aired at 2am in the UK on Sky Atlantic. If you are waiting for the 9pm repeat, please do not read this review.

It has been far too long coming, but Winter is finally here. The new season of Game of Thrones arrives two months later than usual and consists of only seven episodes. However, if you were hoping this might mean it would pick up the pace, you’re going to be disappointed.

Instead of hurtling towards the finish line – which the latter half of season six managed admirably – ‘Dragonstone’ meanders, placing too much time and emphasis on characters we don’t care for and big long monologues that make characters we do care for boring. There’s also an excruciatingly long scene dedicated to the famous guest star, Ed Sheeran, which appears to be mostly fan pandering.

Game of Thrones has form for this, of course, and as far as season openers go it isn’t the worst. It’s a better start than the glacial pace of season six’s ‘The Red Woman’, for instance (did we ever learn why Melisandre’s advanced age was relevant?). In fact, the opening few minutes are glorious. Season seven opens to Arya Stark enjoying another bloody revenge – and that moment of victory is everything we have wanted since the Red Wedding.

Another decent scene is that shared between Jon, the new King of the North, and his believed half-sister Sansa Stark. During a meeting with the Lords of the North, Sansa directly undermines her new King – resulting in an argument between the pair. Both make sensible political points, especially when one remembers their experiences so far. Sansa wants to put out an image of strong and unforgiving leadership, while Jon refuses to punish those he does not feel deserve it. Sansa later reminds him that being noble was what got Ned and Robb killed, and we catch a glimpse at just how deeply her transition to a Southern player of the game has taken hold. This scene is the type of scene that we enjoy about Game of Thrones, contrasting politics and family relationships neatly.

However, it’s easier to list scenes that did not strike the right note. New villain Euron Greyjoy’s appearances in Game of Thrones ought to make an impact, not send the viewer into a dazed, sleepy confusion wherein they wonder what on Earth is his accent and costume. And we’ll just ignore the fact that the series is simplifying the basis of the Iron Islands rebellion to Euron being a tool. Ed Sheeran’s appearance was as hyped as it was unnecessary. While Game of Thrones has in the past employed subtlety in the celebrity cameos, no such luxury was afforded to Sheeran. His scene literally opens with him singing, makes every effort to show him off, and contains no discernible point. It’s all a bit of a shambles.

Even Mad Queen Cersei Lannister’s rant about enemies in every direction wasn’t overly exciting, going on for seemingly ages and too senseless to be interesting. And Daenery’s long-awaited return to Westeros was a slow, silent walk to to throne room. All right, we got some fabulous exterior shots of the filming location, but forgive me for wanting something a little more exciting after waiting more than a year.

Elsewhere, Sam Tarly makes an important discovery about dragonglass (a discovery that, again, takes up an unnecessary amount of screen time) and Sandor Clegane questions Beric’s resurrections. It’s all stuff we probably need to know, but could one of the biggest shows in the world not find a way to wrangle this into something a bit more impressive?

All in all, it’s a disappointing start to the penultimate series. However, Game of Thrones has a habit of saving everything for the final few episodes of the season, so a lack of excitement now is nothing to be overly concerned about (yet). It’s just annoying.

Daenerys Targaryen returns home in new Game of Thrones season 7 images

The first images lifted from Game of Thrones‘s upcoming season seven premiere are here.

The new images reveal Daenerys back on solid ground, visiting her ancestral home of Dragonstone. This means that the Mother of Dragons won’t spend the entire season at sea and will finally, finally get to Westeros this season – and quickly.

Another image shows the Night’s Watch armed with fiery torches looking at something – or someone. This could possibly be the arrival of Meera Reed and Bran Stark at Castle Black, since there is a second image of Meera with the Night’s Watch. It’s likely if Meera is there, Bran is near – seeing as she is his only source of transportation. In addition, the pair ended season six at the gates of Castle Black (mostly) safe and sound.

Next up we have new queen Cersei Lannister, at home in King’s Landing, drinking wine. She’s probably scheming someone’s downfall, seeing as last time we saw her enjoying her favourite beverage was when she blew up all her political enemies.

And finally, we have Brienne and Podrick at Winterfell, apparently having some sort of knight-squire training session. Since Brienne is sworn to protect Sansa, we can probably assume Sansa will remain at Castle Black for the first episode of the season from this.

WATCH: Kit Harington plays Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones sketch

Kit Harington has appeared in a hilarious new sketch in which he took part in auditions for multiple Game of Thrones characters.

Harington was appearing as a guest on last night’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, which airs on ABC in the US.

Host Jimmy Kimmel revealed the actor had actually auditioned to play more than one part on Game of Thrones before settling for Jon Snow. This prompted a hilarious sketch in which Harington tried his hand at portraying Game of Thrones favourites such as Cersei Lannister, Arya Stark and Daenerys Targaryen. There’s even a little something in there for Harry Potter fans.

Needless to say, we’re relieved Harington was selected to play Jon Snow over some of these more – er, colourful – characters.

Over Harington’s six seasons on the show, Jon Snow has joined the Night’s Watch (a military order dedicated to protecting the Northern Wall), been elected Lord Commander, been assassinated by his own men and then later resurrected. Most recently, he was declared the new King of the North.

The character was long believed to be a bastard son of Sean Bean’s noble Ned Stark. However, it was recently revealed he was actually the son of Stark’s sister Lyanna and the former crown prince Rhaegar Targaryen.

Game of Thrones returns to Sky Atlantic on Monday, July 17, for its seventh series. It will simulcast with the US premiere, arriving on UK screens at 2am. For those who prefer sleeping in the early hours of the morning, Game of Thrones will be repeated at 9pm later that day.

Empire magazine reveals HUGE Game of Thrones Jon Snow secret

Empire magazine may have let slip a huge Game of Thrones secret in their latest edition.

The current issue of the magazine includes a special Game of Thrones preview spread, ahead of the fantasy series’s return to television in July. According to the official Empire website, in this issue “we head to Westeros to learn 15 things from the cast, from Targaryen to Lannister and everything in between.”

One snippet from the magazine includes a quote from Isaac Hempstead Wright, who portrays Bran Stark in the series, discussing the big secret Bran discovered in the season six finale. Fans learnt that Jon Snow was not the son of Ned Stark, but his younger sister Lyanna, who is deceased at the start of the series. The episode strongly implied Jon’s real father to be the former Prince Rhaegar Targaryen – Daenerys’s older brother.

One indicator of Jon’s true heritage would be his real name, which was conveniently muted during the actual episode.

However, Empire’s editorial may have let slip the real name. According to their piece, Jon Snow’s real name is Jaehaerys Targaryen.

Of course, this could be a big mistake on the part of the publication. A simple Google search will unearth many fan theories suggesting our favourite bastard’s real name is Jaehaerys, which is a popular choice due to its relevance to the Targaryen family and the fact it shares the same first letter as ‘Jon’. It is possible a journalist has incorrectly added this information, and several proofreaders and an editor failed to point this out.

If not, however, this theory may confirm in-show that Jon’s father is Rhaegar Targaryen. After all, what other family would name their heir ‘Jaehaerys’?