Sean Bean of 'Game of Thrones' May Have Confirmed a Fan Theory About Jon Snow's Mother

Caution: Both real and theoretical "Game of Thrones" spoilers are ahead!

The question, "Who is Jon Snow's mother?" is one of the biggest of the "Game of Thrones" series. In fact, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were granted permission to adapt the books into a show by George R.R. Martin only after they correctly deduced who Ned Stark's bastard's mother is.

But there might be irony in the fact that Snow is consistently referred to as "Ned Stark's bastard" in the show/books. A fan theory that's been circulating on the Internet concludes that Ned isn't Jon's father at all.

The theory is as follows: Jon Snow is born to a Stark, but not Ned. Rather, Jon was Ned's sister Lyanna's son. Lyanna was "kidnapped" by Rhaegar Targaryen, an act that would lead to Robert's rebellion and the events of the series as we know them. So it's possible that Jon's father was Rhaegar, making him a Targaryen and a true heir to the throne...and since the Lannisters were slaughtering Targaryens after the end of the rebellion, Ned took Jon away to Winterfell and pretended that he was his own son.

That's all theory, of course. But then there was a Vulture interview with Sean Bean, who plays Ned on the show (or played, rather), that may have confirmed it as fact.

"I've definitely got some unfinished business that needs to be resolved there," Bean said, when asked about returning to the show in flashback scenes. "I'm obviously not Jon Snow's dad. And you need that to be revealed at some point, don't you? So Bran would kind of be the one having the flashback, and he would see Ned praying, right? And revealing those things?"

"Obviously not Jon Snow's dad," eh? If that's a fact that Bean was told by Martin, Benioff or Weiss, then that would just about confirm the theories. Then again, this might be a case of Bean having read the same theories we have, and he's just referencing those and guessing himself.

In any case, it will likely be quite a while before we find out, as Martin is continuing his work on the books while contributing to the show...both are set for release next year at the earliest.