Game of Thrones fans feared the worst when they were left unsure whether Tormund survived after he was last seen running to escape a torrent of fire.
Tormund alongside Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer) were under attack from the Night King (Vladimir Furdik) at the Wall.
Now, the Tormund actor has teased his rebirth might not last long: “Every time we get new scripts it’s been like, ‘Am I dying on that page?’ NO. That page? No. That page? No. End of the script? OK!
“But for season eight, it’s a different story.”
Will Tormund be one of the fan favourites killed off in the last six episodes of the HBO fantasy?
Just as fans were able to breathe a collective sigh of relief, they were hit with more bad news.
It would appear Tormund will finally stop cheating death and season eight will seal his demise.
Fans have only just discovered he is alive in season eight after they were convinced he had died in the Night King attack.
However, Hivju claims he never doubted his character’s survival: “I assumed that they wouldn’t give Tormund an offscreen death.”
In a series that leads seamlessly on from story to story, it would have been odd for an important character to have his story finished so abruptly.
In the Game of Thrones season eight trailer, Tormund is seen walking through a castle doorway alongside Beric and Dolorous Edd (Ben Crompton), much to fans’ relief.
In season seven he had faced attack from the Night King after remaining North of the Wall with Beric.
He had become part of Jon Snow’s (Kit Harington) quest to capture a wight for Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), but had not travelled back South.
They were attacked by the White Walkers and the army of the dead, who managed to enter the Seven Kingdoms.
Director Jeremy Podeswa has chosen to keep things vague regarding Tormund’s fate in the series finale too, saying: “We certainly wanted to keep it open by the end of the episode. Open to interpretation.
“We didn’t put a fine point on it about who survived and who didn’t.”
As to how they survived, actor Hivju teased: “But as to how Tormund reappears, well I’d watch.”
How they escaped is a mystery and fans will have to wait until season eight drops to find out.
Season eight theories are in full swing and suggest that Tormund may also play an important role in the Battle of Winterfell.
Game of Thrones season 8 premieres on April 14 on HBO and Sky Atlantic and on NOW TV on April 15.
