This 'Game Of Thrones' Season 8 Theory Could Spell Trouble For Team Daenerys

By now, it's common knowledge that the Game of Thrones television series has outpaced the books. Even so, there are elements of the George R. R. Martin novels that haven't crossed over onto the big screen — potentially until now. Game of Thrones Season 8 might include the dragon horn, and if that's true, it could be bad news for those hoping to see Khaleesi end up on the Iron Throne. Game of Thrones fan site Winter is Coming recently revealed that the show has cast a new sailor in a role for Season 8, and that could mean Euron's fleet matters more than ever.

The sailor in question is described as a man aged 35-50. Winter is Coming revealed, "He's a rough-and-ready sea-faring type with a weathered face and strong presence." The role has not yet been cast.

It's long been rumored that the dragon horn would appear on the show. In the first seven seasons, though, it still hasn't. The closest the series got to introducing the dragon-destroying creation is in Season 7, when Euron Greyjoy reentered the picture. His storyline has been condensed and sped up to a degree, but it's his teaming up with Cersei that could make him the most dangerous. He's a violent, deranged pirate king to begin with, but with the promise of marriage to Cersei — and by extension, power, money, and a legacy — he's borderline psychotic. The "gift" he brought Cersei in Season 7 ended up being some of her enemies, and not the dragon horn as some thought it might be. But everyone knows how much Cersei detests Daenerys' dragons, and how desperately she looks for ways to wound them. With the Night King capturing Viserion, that leaves Khaleesi with just two of her children left.

Will Euron's new crew bring Cersei the dragon horn, and defeat the Targaryen queen for good? Let's take a look.

As previously explored, GoT casting the head of the Golden Company proves that they're officially being brought into the fold. Cersei mentioned that she'd summoned the Golden Company to "return things to her" that she'd lost, and that's where the dragon horn might come in. One fan theory suggests that she'll kidnap Sansa Stark; another posits that it's her brother Tyrion, and a third would introduce this maybe-mythical, maybe-not insta-dragon busting device. The Euron of the Game of Thrones novels describes the artifact thusly:

That horn you heard I found amongst the smoking ruins that were Valyria, where no man has dared to walk but me. You heard its call, and felt its power. It is a dragon horn, bound with bands of red gold and Valyrian steel graven with enchantments. The dragonlords of old sounded such horns, before the Doom devoured them. With this horn, ironmen, I can bind dragons to my will.

Bottom line: The thing called "Dragonbinder" is enormous, spooky, and will allow the person who wields it to control dragons. It's also a little unpredictable. Alternately known as a "hellhorn," the sound it produces is not unlike thousands of people being burned alive, according to A Dance with Dragons, and the man who blew the horn for Euron in A Feast for Crows suffered immediate injuries. He died not long afterwards, and it appeared that his lungs were charred to soot. It's creepy! And as a result, extremely on-brand for Euron.

Since Cersei remains bent on destroying the dragons that are left, it's entirely possible that the dragon horn will be introduced for the final season of Game of Thrones. It would ingratiate Euron to her even more, which he could use — he probably doesn't know Cersei is pregnant with her twin brother's child, but that's kind of on him — and it would present a real threat to Daenerys' future. By adding sailors to the cast, and indicating they're important enough to merit a full-blown description, it seems as if the series could be headed in this direction. Game of Thrones has spent little time in "the smoldering ruins of Valyria," but enough that Euron's fleet retrieving Dragonbinder from there during his journey to pick up the Golden Company wouldn't seem too wild. And if Daenerys loses another one of her dragons... well, the Dragon Queen might have to start thinking about a new title.