'Game of Thrones' Casts Ian McShane for Season 6

Ian McShane is joining Game of Thrones, HBO confirmed Saturday morning.

The Deadwood alum is returning to the network for the hit fantasy series' sixth season. Who exactly the British actor will play in the drama is shrouded in secrecy, however, with the network staying mum on any character details.

In previous years, HBO typically had announced numerous castmembers by this time, but McShane is the first name to be confirmed for the upcoming season. The plot of season six is the most unknown one yet, as the show has largely caught up with the five books George R. R. Martin has published so far in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, which is planned to run for seven books. No release date has been set for the sixth installment, The Winds of Winter.

Check out some pictures from 'Game of Thrones' shooting locations:

McShane, known for portraying bad guys, scoundrels and thieves on-screen, is currently guesting in the third season of Ray Donovan. Next, he can be seen next as a corrupt judge in Bolden and opposite Patrick Wilson in The Man On Carrion Road. His credits include Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Hercules, Cuban Fury, Jack and the Giant Slayer, Snow White and the Huntsman, and American Horror Story: Asylum.

On Thursday, HBO programming president Michael Lombardo revealed the network was eyeing at least eight seasons for Game of Thrones.

"Seven-seasons-and-out has never been the conversation," Lombardo said at the Television Critics Association press tour. "The question is how much beyond seven are we going to do."

Season six is currently in production and is expected to premiere in spring 2016.

McShane is repped by ICM, Independent Talent and Gallant. Entertainment Weekly first reported the casting news.