Game of Thrones season two just ended last month so what better way to bide your time than by marking your calendars with the season three premiere date. Ready? Here it is: March 31, 2013.
Other than announcing this special day, the Game of Thrones panel at Comic Con moderated by author George R.R. Martin included a five-and-a-half minute recap of the epic second season and a brief introduction to (a whopping) 14 new characters we will be forced to know next season. The former video is embedded above while the latter one hangs after the break. Under that video there’s a listing of all the new characters explaining how they’re each tied to the ones we already know.
Diana Rigg as Lady Olenna Tyrell
Also known as “The Queen of Thorns,” Lady Olenna is the grandmother of Margaery and Loras Tyrell and is, in many ways, the true leader of their powerful family.
Mackenzie Crook as Orell
A wildling raider, Orell is a “warg” or “skinchanger,” with the ability to enter the mind of an animal and control its actions.
Clive Russell as Bryndon “The Blackfish” Tully
Known far and wide as “The Blackfish,” Brynden is a famous knight and the uncle of Catelyn Stark. He quarreled bitterly with his brother, Lord Hoster Tully, and the two were estranged for many years.
Nathalie Emannuel as Missandei
Originally from the peaceful island of Naath, Missandei was sold into slavery as a child, along with her brother. She received education in various languages and became a translator to the slave trader Kraznys in Astapor.
Kerry Ingram as Shireen Baratheon
The only child of Stannis Baratheon. An avid reader, she escapes her lonely life through myths and stories—her books are her most treasured possessions.
Paul Kaye as Thoros of Myr
A key member of the outlaw band known as the Brotherhood Without Banners, he is a Red Priest, in service of the Lord of Light, and originally hails from the Free City of Myr, in Essos.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Jojen Reed
A mysterious and enigmatic young man who becomes an important ally to Bran Stark.
Ellie Kendirck as Meera Reed
The eldest daughter of Howland Reed and a staunch Stark loyalist, Meera and her younger brother Jojen seek out Bran Stark to protect him on his hard journey north.
Richard Dormer as Beric Dondarrion
Once the lord of Blackhaven and a celebrated warrior, Lord Beric has now become the leader of the Brotherhood Without Banners, a band of vigilante outlaws.
Kristofer Hivju as Tormund Giantsbane
A famed wildling warrior and chief lieutenant of the “King Beyond the Wall,” Mance Rayder, Tormund is fearsome and strong, with a large build and a beard to match.
Philip McGinley as Anguy
An extremely skilled archer and key member of the outlaw band known as the Brotherhood Without Banners.
Tara Fitzgerald as Selyse Baratheon
The wife of Stannis Baratheon, Selyse spends much of her life in seclusion, shut away in a gloomy tower.
Tobias Menzies as Edmure Tully
The younger brother of Catelyn Stark, Edmure has recently become Lord of Riverrun in the wake of his father’s death.
Anton Lesser as Qyburn
A former maester of the Citadel, who was stripped of his chain many years ago.