Actor Aidan Gillen has been played Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish on Game of Thrones for six years. According to Entertainment Weekly, he’ll soon add a new TV credit to his resume: Peaky Blinders, a post-World War I Netflix drama that follows the exploits of a family of gangsters living in Birmingham, England. He’ll be joining the show’s fourth season in an unnamed role. Academy Award-winner Adrian Brody (The Pianist) is also coming aboard.
Filming for the fourth season of Peaky Blinders began in March, meaning Gillen was most likely finished with filming on Game of Thrones season 7 by the time he started. Also, we don’t know how big or small Gillen’s part in the Netflix drama will be, or for how long he will be attached to that show.
Still, we can’t help but be a little worried about what Gillen taking on a new TV role means for Littlefinger. We’re reminded of when Finn Jones (Loras Tyrell) was cast in the lead role of Marvel’s Iron Fist (also on Netflix). That announcement was made before season 6 debuted. And then Loras died in the season 6 finale. So we’re jumpy.
Will Littlefinger die in Game of Thrones season 7? While he’s an important character, the show doesn’t focus on him to the extent it does on the likes of Jon Snow, Daenerys, Bran, Arya, Sansa, Jaime and Cersei. With only 13 episodes of the show left, relevance is relative, although everyone’s in danger of getting the axe.
We can imagine scenarios where he meets his end. Most obviously, there are those White Walkers trying to get over the Wall — political maneuvering is lost on them. Closer to home, Littlefinger is now inside Winterfell, navigating an uneasy new alliance between the Northerners, the wildlings and the Knights of the Vale. Might he get caught in the crossfire? Might Sansa, his apprentice, take a cue from her master and try to remove from the board?
Or maybe he’ll be fine. After all, filming on Game of Thrones season 8 won’t begin until September, probably long after filming on Peaky Blinders season 4 is over. So we’ll try and ignore the little alarm bells in our heads.
Game of Thrones season 7 premieres on July 16. According to Digital Spy, Peaky Blinders season 4 will most likely air late 2017.