Could a beloved 'Game of Thrones' character return as a White Walker?

This time last year, we were freaking out over the Game of Thrones season premiere, and all was right with the world.

But since Season 7 of the HBO hit won't debut until July 16, we still have more than two months in which to blindly speculate about where the show might go, and the theories are getting a little... wild.

The latest freakout comes courtesy of an interview that the Belfast Telegraph conducted with Hodor himself, Kristian Nairn, who teased that we may not have seen the last of the gentle giant, despite his apparent demise in Season 6.

When asked if he'd like to come back as "an instrument of evil," Nairn answered the way any jobbing actor would: "As a fan I'm not sure I would love that, but as an actor I would absolutely love that and it would be so much fun to play that," before adding, "Maybe he's not dead, maybe he's just roaming round the countryside eating berries like a grizzly bear!"

While that's an adorable mental image, the reporter refused to be distracted, and asked, point blank, whether we might see a White Walker Hodor -- which is an admittedly ballsy tactic when it comes to asking for Game of Thrones spoilers.

"I'm just going to say no but I might be lying," Nairn teased. "I can't give anything away. I have let things slip before by accident and I've learnt the hard way."

This isn't the first time Nairn has hinted that Hodor might get a frosty makeover -- immediately after his death scene last season, the actor suggested that rumors of Hodor's death might've been greatly exaggerated.

"The interesting thing is it’s kinda left open," he told EW. "You don’t actually see him [die]. It’s implied. So who knows? He may come back as a White Walker, maybe he got away."

Stop toying with our emotions, sir!

Further evidence to support Nairn's Season 7 return? He appeared -- along with the rest of his Game of Thrones castmates -- in costume, in a new HBO promo. Would there be any reason to drag him into a studio to film a one word joke if he wasn't already near a set? Sure, it made a nice punchline, and HBO isn't hurting for cash with which to transport its actors if it needs them for a spot of marketing, but would we really have missed him if he hadn't been part of the bit?

See? Evidence!

We'll have to wait another two months (sob) to find out for sure, but we're betting we haven't seen the last of Hodor.