It appears the war of the living against the dead (and of the living against other living) will have to do without the backing of the Iron Bank of Braavos, or at least without Tycho Nestoris as its figurehead: contrary to earlier insinuations by the actor, Mark Gatiss has confirmed he will not return to Game of Thrones for its final season!

In an interview with ShortList, mostly about League of Gentlemen and Sherlock, the British actor is candid when asked about his chances of survival in season eight:

“I’m not in it, so I guess I survive,” he surmises. “Although they might just mention offhand that I’ve had my head bitten off by a dragon off-screen or something.”

Back in 2017, after filming season seven, Gatiss indicated he still had two more episodes left, or that’s what the producers thought at the time, at least. If so, plans have obviously changed since then. Though the showrunners have come through often in terms of promising a cast member they would eventually return (Joe Dempsie as Gendry being the prime example), this isn’t the first time a minor role is cut when the scripts for next season are written and they realize there wasn’t a place for them after all.

Though we shouldn’t expect Gatiss to act as the face of the Iron Bank of Braavos anymore, it seems unavoidable for them to be at least mentioned, considering where things were left off with Cersei and Euron last season. The bank will probably have an off-screen presence, as they often do despite their representative Tycho only appearing a handful of times. Remember what Tywin said: “One stone crumbles and another takes its place, and the temple holds its form for a thousand years or more. And that’s what the Iron Bank is: a temple. We all live in its shadow and almost none of us know it; you can’t run from them, you can’t cheat them, you can’t sway them with excuses; if you owe them money and you don’t want to crumble yourself, you pay it back.”