Game of Thrones Season 5 Release Date, Cast and News: Key Characters Not to Appear Next Season

By Ken Salcedo Sep 04, 2014 10:47 AM EDT

Game of Thrones Season 5 Release Date, Cast and News: Key Characters Not to Appear Next Season

According to Kristian Nairn who portrays Hodor in the HBO drama series Game of Thrones, Isaac Hempstead-Wright and himself will not be appearing in Season 5.

"We have a season off. We have a year's hiatus," Nairn told the Australian Broadcasting Channel. "Solely because I imagine our storyline is up to the end of the books."

This will be the first time in the series to bench out major characters in their show. Hempstead-Wright plays one of the remaining living Starks as the young Bran Stark, who along with Hodor are now led to the three-eyed raven at the end of season 4. The benching out of the characters will also be a way to give room to the upcoming new characters that will be introduced in the upcoming new season. This may also be an opportunity for some of the characters in the story to catch up with Bran's story line. Some have even suggested that the discontinuation of Bran's adventure is a way for George R.R. Martin to catch up to the TV series with his books, with The Winds of Winter is still not yet been published.

The hiatus has given Nairn an opportunity to expand his DJing career adding, "So, I get my year off now to do Rave of Thrones and gallivant all over the world."

Game of Thrones Season 5 is currently in production, and will have to also shoot in Spain to shoot a new country in Westeros, Dorne. Season 5 is expected to premiere in early 2015.