As the days leading up to the seventh season premiere of "Game of Thrones" trickle, announcements of new cast members have been made by the show.

The biggest name to join the cast is arguably veteran actor Jim Broadbent. He previously said that he will be sharing scenes with Samwell Tarley (John Bradley). This has fueled speculations that he will be playing the Archmaester Marwyn character from the novels. He is assumed to be the one who will help Sam find a way to defeat the White Walkers.

Mark Gatiss, who previously appeared in seasons 4 and 5 of "Game of Thrones" as Tycho Nestoris, who heads the Iron Bank of Braavos, will be returning to the show. The announcement of his return on the show is interesting, considering that previous hints from the cast and crew of the show suggests that the story will now converge in Westeros, specifically in King's Landing, so it seems strange that a character based in another part of the "Game of Thrones" universe will be coming back.

David Bradley, who played Walder Frey in the previous seasons, will also be reprising his role, despite his character being killed by Arya Stark (Maisie Williams). It is likely that his "return" is actually Arya "borrowing" his face so that she can continue her quest for vengeance for the Red Wedding, which was orchestrated by the Lannisters and the Freys.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays Jaime Lannister, has also inadvertently revealed that his character's sister and lover, Cersei, will acquire a new suitor, who can either be a new character or one who was already introduced. Some speculate that the suitor is Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk), who will only do so to get his foothold on the Iron Throne.

Interestingly, pop singer Ed Sheeran has also been confirmed to appear in the show. However, his role has not been confirmed yet.

Given the show's propensity for killing off its characters, it remains to be seen if these new cast members will last for more than one episode each.

"Game of Thrones" returns on HBO for its seventh season on July 17. It will only have seven episodes instead of 10.