As the second season of Game of Thrones reaches its epic conclusion this Sunday evening, you may be curious to know who will enter the story for season three.
Producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss say that while the show has one of the largest casts on TV, they’re not done adding to the universe of Westeros. Benioff and Weiss tell EWthat they will add several more characters from the best-selling fantasy series next year. Here’s a list of who’s coming to the series.
Mance Rayder: A former member of the Night’s Watch who became the “King Beyond the Wall,” the leader of the Wildlings.
Daario Naharis: A confident and seductive warrior.
Jojen Reed; Meera Reed: A teenage brother and sister duo with special insights.
Edmure Tully: A brash young member of the Tully family.
Ser Brynden Tully (The Blackfish): Catelyn Stark’s uncle.
Lady Selyse Florent: Stannis Baratheon’s wife.
Shireen: Stannis’ daughter.
Olenna Redwyne (The Queen of Thorns): Margaery Tyrell’s sharp-witted grandmother.
Beric Dondarrion: A skilled knight who is the leader of the outlaw group Brotherhood Without Banners.
Thoros of Myr: A red priest who follows the same religion as Melisandre.
Tormund Giantsbane: A Wildling raider.
As previously reported, the third novel in the best-selling series will be split into two seasons.
It will be interesting to see who they cast as the new characters for season three of Game of Thrones. Now that the show is a huge hit, better known actors will be attracted to the show. This might be might not be so great as this kind of casting sometimes backfires. That said, I can’t wait to see who they cast as The Queen of Thorns. I always liked the dynamic of her scenes in the books.
Speaking of Game of Thrones:
I was just surprised to hear that the ratings for Sunday night’s episode “Blackwater” were actually down from the previous week. The thinking is that the lower ratings were due to the episode being shown on the Memorial Day weekend. This is unfortunate. Blackwater is arguablely the best episode of the series so far and certainly the most comprehensive. My dread is that if it didn’t translate into thekinds of ratings that HBO was hoping for, why would they fork out extra money for another such episode in the future.