Game Of Thrones season 6: Will Jon Snow feature in premiere episode? Director weighs in, teases explosive start

Game Of Thrones season 6 will begin "with a bang" teases the premiere episode director Jeremy Podeswa. Fans can expect some major twists and shockers as the show returns with what is being promised as a more fast paced season 6.

"Expectations are always very high at the beginning of the season, and checking in with all of the characters is a daunting prospect," Podeswa told Yahoo! TV. "What's great about this season is that there's very little expository stuff. It starts off with a bang and you're right into the excitement of the story."

Podeswa directed season 5's Emmy nominated episode - Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken - which featured the controversial rape scene of Sansa Stark. The director is now in charge of kicking-off the eagerly-awaited season 6 as he helms the first two episodes. So will this 'beginning with a bang' have anything to do with Jon Snow and his rumoured return from the dead? Well, Podeswa steered clear of spilling any beans but hinted that the storyline is "propulsive and moving forward" in a "big and expansive" setting.

When asked if Jon Snow will be part of the season premiere, the director replied, "...the show picks up where it left off last season. That's all I'll say on that subject."

Podeswa knows that a lot is riding on his premiere as season 6 will be the first to depart from George RR Martin's A Song Of Ice And Fire novel series. The show has overtaken his books, with the long-awaited sixth novel The Winds Of Winter yet to be given a release date.

"There's an enormous fan curiosity of where we're going to go, and that makes me equally nervous and excited," Podeswa said. "There have been so many diversions from the original story in the last couple of seasons that I think the audience is ready to go completely off-book. I think everyone's going to be really happy. I don't think fans are going to be disappointed."

Season 6 of Game Of Thrones is currently being filmed in Belfast and various locations in Spain. It's a demanding and complicated schedule and Podeswa is finding the challenge both "very exciting and also a little scary". The popular HBO series is expected to return in April, 2016.