Games

This one is about war : Season 3 begins airing on 31 March in the USA and the day afterwards in the UK.

HBO have released an extended version of last week's Game of Thrones trailer. This version contains a few more shots and some additional dialogue, as well as glimpses of more characters (established and new). Look out for Paul Kaye as Thoros of Myr intoning the R'hllor speech and our first glimpse of the 'bear and maiden fair':

One question about the Game of Thrones TV series has reared its head with increased frequency over the last few months. That question is fairly straightforward: will we see this story end on TV before author George R.R. Martin can deliver the final novel in the series? This is a valid question. The Game of Thrones TV series began in April 2011, at roughly the same point in time that Martin was delivering the manuscript for the fifth novel in the Song of Ice and Fire book series, A Dance with Dragons . Dragons was published in July 2011 and Martin reported that he had started work on the sixth and planned-to-be penultimate novel in the series, The Winds of Winter , using roughly 200 manuscript pages' worth of material as a springboard to write the next book. Like A Dance with Dragons and A Storm of Swords before it, Martin plans for The Winds of Winter to come in at around 1,500 manuscript pages in length. Martin wrote A Storm of Swords (the third novel in the series, publish...

Eight of the ten episode titles for Season 3 of Game of Thrones have been announced. These are as follows (with airdate and writer/director information): Paul Kaye as Thoros of Myr 301: Valar Dohaeris Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Directed by Daniel Minahan Airdate: 31 March 302: Dark Wings, Dark Words Written by Vanessa Taylor Directed by Daniel Minahan Airdate: 7 April 303: Walk of Punishment Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Directed by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Airdate: 14 April 304: And Now His Watch is Ended Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Directed by Alex Graves Airdate: 21 April 305: Kissed by Fire Written by Bryan Cogman Directed by Alex Graves Airdate: 28 April 306: tbc Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Directed by Alik Sakharov Airdate: 5 May 307: The Bear and the Maiden Fair Written by George R.R. Martin Directed by Michelle MacLaren Airdate: 12 May 308: tbc Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Directed by Michelle MacLaren Airdate: 19 ...

HBO have finally released a 'proper' trailer for Season 3 of Game of Thrones : The trailer has a lot of great bits in it, but my favourites were our first proper look at Dragonstone in the daylight: And this shot of Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) climbing the Wall is quite impressive: Meanwhile, Entertainment Weekly has reported that the second season has sold more than 241,000 copies on its first day on sale in the USA, a 44% increase on the first season. More than 350,000 episodes were also bought from digital vendors, more than twice that of the first season. This bodes well for the Season 4 renewal (which is expected after the first few episodes of Season 3 airs, but pre-production has already started).

Not very far, but Martin confirms that, in the wake of the new deal, he is actively discussing Dunk and Egg with HBO and will be pitching a Tuf Voyaging TV series to them as well (note he doesn't say to HBO, but the recent deal means it really has to be to HBO). He also suggests Conleth Hill (Varys in GoT ) could make an excellent Haviland Tuf, and rules himself out from having any role on the new I, Claudius TV series. No word on a possibly Ron Donachie-starring version of Fevre Dream , unfortunately. Martin's comments do confirm earlier supposition that the deal will be used - at least in part - to explore his existing, non-optioned franchises. Update : Martin has confirmed that a movie version of Fevre Dream is in the works, with a 'name' director interested in the project. However, nothing has been signed yet. The Wild Cards franchise is currently being worked on as a movie collaboration between SyFy and Universal, with Melinda Snodgrass having just deliver...

George R.R. Martin has signed a two-year development deal with HBO. The deal includes extending his 'executive producer' credit on Game of Thrones for another two seasons and also gives HBO exclusive rights to any TV show ideas he creates in that time. "So, Tyrion and Bronn bromance series?" Development deals, out of favour in Hollywood during the financial crisis, have recently come back into vogue. J.J. Abrams has such a deal in place, allowing him to develop or produce new shows for several networks (two pilots based on his ideas have been greenlit for later this year). Abrams's deal allows him to develop TV projects whilst working elsewhere: he has been working full-time on his second Star Trek movie for the past eighteen months or so, and is about to plough into working full-time on Star Wars: Episode VII for anything up to three years. On that basis, fears that this deal will delay The Winds of Winter (the sixth and currently-planned-to-be-penultimate S...

In an interview with Empire Online to publicise his new TV show, The Following , James Purefoy has confirmed that he will not be appearing in Game of Thrones due to lingering annoyance with HBO over how they ended Rome , and that his co-star Kevin McKidd is of a similar mind. According to Purefoy, he and McKidd decided on this commitment over lunch: McKidd and I had lunch the other day, and I said to him, "Have you been asked to do Game Of Thrones?" And he said, "I'd never do it. Because they stole our fucking show." He worked out that if Rome had run for the entire seven seasons that it should have run, we would only have finished it last year. And he feels that HBO did Game of Thrones instead of us, so they stole our show. I kind of agree with him. I won't be doing Game Of Thrones, even if they ask me. Context: James Purefoy played Mark Antony on HBO's Rome , with McKidd playing the role of Lucius Vorenus. Rome ran for two seasons, airing in 20...

This is slightly different, showing the three-eyed crow flying across 'our' world to herald the arrival of Season 3 of Game of Thrones (which debuts on 31 March). We likely won't see the first 'proper' trailer, featuring a decent amount of new footage, until next month, but there's another behind-the-scenes featurette airing in the States on HBO next week.

HBO has aired a preview of the third season of Game of Thrones , which will start airing on 31 March 2013. The video gives us our first good glimpse at a number of new characters in costume and make-up (screencaps from Westeros.org ): Clive Russell as Ser Brynden 'the Blackfish' Tully, Catelyn's uncle.  Tobias Menzies as Ser Edmure Tully, Catelyn's younger brother and heir to Riverrun. Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei, a translator from Astapor. Dame Diana Rigg as Lady Olenna Tyrell, the 'Queen of Thorns'. Richard Dormer as Ser Beric Donarrion (replacing David Michael Scott, who played the character in one episode of Season 1). Ellie Kendrick as Meera Reed, whose father was one of Ned Stark's oldest and closest friends. Another shot of Meera, this time with her brother Jojen, played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster. Looking pretty good so far. The promos also confirm that, after a lot of hand-wringing last season, Daenerys looks like she'll be kicking some backsi...

Neil Gaiman has tweeted that he is now writing the American Gods TV show pilot, indicating that the project is still moving ahead despite a long gap since the last hard news about it. From Tor.com. In addition, the BBC is recording a new radio drama adaptation of Neverwhere , Gaiman's novelisation of his 1996 television series of the same name. This would not normally be big news, except the cast that has been assembled is nothing short of stellar. The list of names currently stands as: James McAvoy - Richard Natalie Dormer - Door Benedict Cumberbatch - Islington Antony Head - Mr. Croup David Schofield - Mr. Vandemar Sophie Okenedo - Hunter Bernard Cribbins - Old Bailey Romola Garai - Jessica Christopher Lee - The Earl David Harewood - The Marquis Andrew Sachs - Tooley Johnny Vegas - Lord Ratspeaker Impressive. They could make a movie of the story with this cast and it would be awesome.

A teaser trailer for Season 3 of Game of Thrones . I believe the voice-over is by Tara Fitzgerald, who is playing the role of Selyse Baratheon.

Early days, so not much info so far apart from the already-confirmed airing date:   The image has a few nice features to it. The three swords are clearly a reference to it being the third season and the reason for the swords as a motif is because the season is based on A Storm of Swords (or rather, the first two-thirds of it or so). The backdrop might also be a reference to the Wall, which will figure prominently as a destination this season (at least, if it goes by the book). As for when we'll see the first footage, I'd put my money on a teaser of some kind after the finale of the third season of Boardwalk Empire , which airs in the USA on 2 December.

Will Champion, the drummer (and also occasional guitarist, bassist and singer) of Coldplay, has joined the cast for the third season of Game of Thrones . Champion will have a small role as 'a drummer'. Other details about his role are shrouded in secrecy. Champion is the fourth notable musician to work on the show. Former easy listenin' crooner Jerome Flynn has a recurring major role as Bronn whilst ex-Blockhead Wilko Johnson is Ser Ilyn Payne, of course, whilst the lead singer of Snow Patrol, Gary Lightbody, also has a cameo role in the upcoming third season.

1876, the Black Hills of Dakota Territory. The discovery of gold has inspired thousands of people to break a treaty with the natives and flock to the area to prospect. The camp of Deadwood has been established to cater for their needs and is rapidly expanding into a large town. In such circumstances there lies opportunity, and the criminally-minded Al Swearengen, wanted for murder in Chicago, has set up his own saloon to cash in on such opportunities. Swearengen's operations are complicated by the arrival of the noted Wild West figures Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok and Charlie Utter, as well as the establishment of a rival hotel and casino across the road from his own joint and the arrival of a former Montana marshal, Seth Bullock, who is looking to open a hardware store. With native attacks still a threat and a cholera outbreak striking the town, Deadwood needs to negotiate some perilous waters if it is to survive. Deadwood is widely considered to be one of the jewels in HBO...

Mors Westford is a former knight in the service of House Lannister. For refusing to take part in the mission to kill Princess Elia Martell and her children during the Sack of King's Landing, Mors was declared a traitor. He escaped punishment by taking the black and now serves on the Wall as one of the Night's Watch's finest trackers and soldiers. When wildlings cross the Wall and hole up in the abandoned castle of Icemark, it falls to Mors to flush them out. After this mission Mors encounters a young woman on the run and discovers a labyrinth conspiracy originating in King's Landing. Meanwhile, Ser Alester Sarwyck returns home to his castle of Riverspring (near the source of the Blackwater Rush) upon learning of the death of his father. Riverspring is in danger of falling into the hands of Alester's brutal bastard half-brother, Valarr, so Alester travels to King's Landing to win the support of Queen Cersei in his attempts to succeed his father. He a...

A good while ago, an interesting app appeared on iTunes. The app was an interactive map of Westeros, the setting for the Song of Ice and Fire novels and Game of Thrones TV show. Users could search for obscure locations from the books and scroll around the map. As a free app, it was pretty good, although it was very heavily based on the same art style as the official map created by HBO for the TV show. The guy who created it, one Sergey Rekuz, posted on the Westeros.org forum and, given its usability, handiness and noted non-profit-making stance, he was allowed to advertise his product. Tear's famous map of Westeros, still the definitive online map of the setting (and not at all affiliated with the iTunes app). However, a few months ago something more dubious happened. The app was expanded with several modules that had to be paid for. The first such module was a map of Essos, the continent to the east of Westeros. This was then expanded by a 'cities map' and a 'coat of...

Game of Thrones has added two more members to its cast for the third season. Ed Skrein is a British musician and DJ who recently moved into acting. As a musician he has released a solo album and worked with artists such as Asian Dub Foundation and Plan B. He has appeared in the movies Piggy and Ill Manors , the latter directed by Plan B. Skrein will be playing the role of Daario Naharis. A mercenary in the Stormcrows, he is one of Prendahl's lieutenants. He is charismatic, handsome and disreputable. Jacob Anderson is a young British actor who has appeared in TV series as Primeval , Silent Witness and Episodes , as well as the movie Adulthood (which also featured musical contributions by Skrein, coincidentally). In Thrones Anderson will be playing the role of Grey Worm, one of the infamous warrior-eunuchs known as the Unsullied, the elite troops of the slave city of Astapor. Both actors will debut in the third season, due to start transmission on 31 March 2013 on HBO.

Two additional castmembers have been announced for the third season of Game of Thrones . Connoisseurs of American cable drama may have spotted British actor Dan Hildebrand before. He played two separate roles on Deadwood , namely Tim Driscoll in the first episode and then the recurring role of Shaugnessy in the third season. He has also played the role of Sean Casey on Sons of Anarchy . Hildebrand will be playing the role of Kraznys mo Nakloz. Kraznys is one of the richest slave-traders in the city of Astapor, on Slaver's Bay. He is immensely wealthy and tremendously arrogant. He employs a translator, Missandei of Naath (Nathalie Emmanuel), in his dealings with outsiders. Meanwhile, British actor Ramon Tikaram has also joined the cast. British drama watchers should be familiar with his work in cult British drama series This Life , as well as a recurring stint on EastEnders . More recently he has been playing in The King and I on stage. Tikaram is playing Prendahl na Ghezn, the co...

After a significant amount of speculation, HBO has announced that Ciarán Hinds will be playing the role of Mance Rayder in the third season of Game of Thrones (and, based on the books, presumably for several seasons afterwards). Ciarán Hinds is a distinguished Irish actor with a long history on stage, television and film. His film work has included roles in John Boorman's Excalibur , Persuasion , Munich and Miami Vice . On TV, he was a main character in the BBC mini-series version of Ivanhoe and Channel 4's Cold Lazarus (the final work by the famous Dennis Potter) before achieving arguably his career highlight of playing Gaius Julius Caesar in HBO's Rome . Hinds's performance as the infamous Roman leader was flawlessly compelling, making the complex character come to life. Hinds's Caesar is, for my money, the definitive depiction of the character. More recently he played Aberforth Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 and was reunited with...