"Game of Thrones" Season 3 Images Show Off New & Returning Characters

One of the major stepping stones for (and one might say, roadblocks to) the enjoyment of Game of Thrones is its gargantuan cast of characters. Newcomers to the HBO series can easily become lost in the web of dozens of names, family allegiances, secret agendas, and sometimes difficult-to-parse backstories. No matter how many characters the show seems to gleefully kill off, there always seems to be a new face or faction waiting in the wings. Things will only get more complicated for Game of Thrones as it kicks off its third season. As if in celebration of the show’s ever-expanding cast list, HBO has released a bevy of new images from the production of season 3 to highlight all the faces new and old we can expect to see this March. EW has shared a small army of new images from the upcoming third season of Game of Thrones. These consist of 23 character portraits, including many first-time looks at faces new to the series. You can browse these brief glimpses of the show’s future in the gallery below.

With the hype machine for Game of Thrones running at full tilt, these images are only the latest evidence that production on season 3 seems to be going well. The number of new characters is slightly worrying, as the show’s second season sometimes had difficulty juggling the rapidly multiplying number of faces and plotlines. Hopefully, the show’s newly acquired extra runtime and the move into a season that showrunner D.B. Weiss describes as, “…the place we needed to get,” will help smooth any clunkiness caused by a much larger cast.

 Game of Thrones, much like winter, is coming to HBO on March 31, 2013.

HBO Releases Action Packed Game of Thrones Season 3 Extended Trailer [Must Watch Video & Photos]

The first Game of Thrones season 3 trailer (also embedded below) is only a few days old and now we have a new one! HBO has just released the Game of Thrones season 3 extended trailer and it is twice as awesome, has more sex and plenty of more dragon and bear action. The Game of Thrones season 3 trailers come just weeks after HBO released 23 large high-quality photos from the highly anticipated third season of Game of Thrones. Some of the Game of Thrones Season 3 photos include well known characters like Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion Lannister, along with new characters joining the show this season such as Wildling leader Mance Rayder and the Lady Olenna the Queen of Thorns. The Game of Thrones season 3 trailer has already gone viral and is a must watch if you are a fan of the show. As a reminder the Game of Thrones season 3 start date is set for March 31st, 2013. I’ve included everything we know about Games of Thrones season 3 after the trailer below.

Here is the Game of Thrones Season 3 Extended Trailer

The Fantasy series is based off “A Song of Ice and Fire,” a series of five novels by George R.R. Martin. Its first season has won several of the most prestigious awards doled out to television shows including Emmys and Golden Globes. Here’s more on Season 3 from InsideTV: The third season is expected to be more-or-less based on the first half of George R.R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords — the third novel of his “Song of Ice and Fire” series of fantasy bestsellers. Long a fan favorite book of the series, Swordshas several dramatic twists and confrontations The show seems to have earned the good graces of fans of the novels, a difficult task for any filmmaker trying to recreate literature for both the big and small screens. It has also garnered a sizable fan base that have not read the novels, but love the story nonetheless. The ability to roll out two episodes of a show’s sophomore season and declare it strong enough to give it a third – now that’s the mark of a good television program. The early announcement is also a blessing for potential fans who haven’t watched the show yet. If you’re not a convert of the series yet, you’ll have lots of time to catch up before season 3 gets started.

Game of Thrones (season 3)

The third season of the epic fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones will premiere in the United States and Canada on March 31, 2013 on HBO The season will premiere internationally on April 1 in the United Kingdom on Sky Atlantic and in the Netherlands on HBO Netherlands. Like the other seasons, the third season will consist of ten episodes. The season is based roughly on the first half of A Storm of Swords, the third of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels by George R. R. Martin, of which the series is an adaptation. HBO renewed the series for a third season on April 10, 2012, nine days after the second season's premiere. Production began in July 2012.

Game of Thrones rapidly became a critical and commercial success after it started airing in April 2011. A few days after ratings for the second season's premiere, "The North Remembers", hit a series high of 8.3 million viewers,[6] HBO announced the show's renewal for a third season. Prior to that announcement, there had been rumors and reports[7] that showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss planned to shoot seasons three and four simultaneously. Benioff said that this would be very efficient, but impossible to write.

The ten episodes of the third season are to be longer than the previous seasons', about 56 or 57 minutes as opposed to about 52. The season's budget was reported to be about 50 million U.S. dollars.

Writing
The third season will be based on the first half of the novel A Storm of Swords. Benioff had previously said that A Storm of Swords would need to be adapted in two seasons on account of its length.[11] Benioff and Weiss also noted that they thought of Game of Thrones as an adaptation of the novel series as a whole, rather than of individual books, which gave them the liberty to move scenes back and forth across books according to the requirements of the screen adaptation. According to Benioff, the third season will contain a particularly memorable scene from A Storm of Swords, the prospect of filming which was part of their motivation to adapt the novels for television in the first place.

Crew
David Benioff and D. B. Weiss serve as main writers and showrunners for the third season. They co-wrote seven out of ten episodes. The remaining three episodes were written by Bryan Cogman, Vanessa Taylor, and A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin.

Daniel Minahan, Alex Graves, Michelle MacLaren, and David Nutter each directed two episodes, while the other two episodes were directed by previous series cinematographer Alik Sakharov. Benioff and Weiss co-directed an episode, both making their directorial debuts.