As if you didn’t see this one coming: HBO has renewed the immensely popular fantasy series Game of Thrones for a fourth season.  The pickup comes just a couple of days after the show’s season three premiere, which pulled in a record-breaking 4.4 million viewers.  The renewal was essentially a foregone conclusion, as Game of Thrones has been a massively profitable series for HBO.  Not only does the show pull in great ratings, but its DVDs and Blu-rays—an incredibly lucrative market for the pay cable network—are record sellers.  Hit the jump for more.

Over 50 new images from season three of HBO’s Game of Thrones are now available.  They feature all of your series favorites in addition to a bunch of new characters who will  attempt to make their marks this year.  As much fun as it is to check out the varied and detailed costumes worn across the lands of Westeros and beyond, it’s much more entertaining to see what kind of crazy expressions the actors pull (see Paul Kaye as Thoros of Myr above).

The series stars Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, Michelle Fairley, Emilia Clarke, Alfie Allen, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Jack Gleeson, Aidan Gillen, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Richard Madden, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.  Game of Thrones returns March 31st at 9pm (EST).

The highly anticipated return of HBO’s Game of Thrones is nigh, and the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly is celebrating all things GoT to mark the occasion.  The magazine has revealed a few character portraits featuring Kit Harington, Emilia Clarke, Richard Madden, and Rose Leslie, in addition to this week’s Jon Snow/Dany-fronted cover.  It’s great to see the characters back in action, and Leslie’s Ygritte looks to have cleaned up rather nicely.

Hit the jump to take a look at the images, and click here to watch the most recent trailer.  Season three of Game of Thrones begins on Sunday, March 31st at 9pm.

A new extended trailer for season three of HBO’s Game of Thrones is now available.  It features most of the same footage from the first trailer, plus a few new scenes and bits of dialogue (still no Florence and the Machine though).  It’s definitely worth a watch, especially for fans of the George R.R. Martin series of novels as there are even more dramatic events revealed in this extended cut.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The series stars Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, Michelle Fairley, Emilia Clarke, Alfie Allen, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Jack Gleeson, Aidan Gillen, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Richard Madden, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.  Game of Thrones returns March 31st.

The first full trailer for season three of HBO’s Game of Thrones has been released online.  While I love the music for Game of Thrones and “Florence and the Machine,” the latter feels a bit out of place here, but who cares?! [Correction: the song is "Bones" by MS MR"]  Without giving away any spoilers from the books, we get glimpses of a flaming ship, a flaming sword, ranks upon ranks of well-trained soldiers in the desert and yes, a dragon in full flight!  I’m ecstatic to return to Westeros in about a month, how about you?

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The series stars Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, Michelle Fairley, Emilia Clarke, Alfie Allen, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Jack Gleeson, Aidan Gillen, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Richard Madden, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.  Game of Thrones returns March 31st.

We’re only seven weeks away from the new season of Game of Thrones, and a new TV spot has been released.  Narrated by Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen), the promo is very much in line with everything about Game of Thrones: it’s a power struggle.  Where some will see a crisis, others will see an opportunity, and we all hope that Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) wins.

Hit the jump to check out the TV spot.  The show also stars Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, Michelle Fairley, Emilia Clarke, Alfie Allen, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Jack Gleeson, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Richard Madden, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.  Game of Thrones returns March 31st.

It’s still nearly two months away from the debut of season three of HBO’s Game of Thrones, but these new character images should help pass the time.  Featuring new looks at old characters and first looks at new cast additions, these images showcase the outstanding costume design that’s been a hallmark of the series.  Fan-favorite Peter Dinklage returns with a whole new look while we get our first introductions to such new players as Clive Russell (Sherlock Holmes) as Catelyn Stark’s dutiful uncle, Bryndon Tully (“The Blackfish”) and Paul Kaye (Match Point) as Thoros of Myr, a red priest of the same order as Stannis’ go-to sorceress Melisandre, plus a lot more.  Hit the jump to check them out.  Game of Thrones returns to HBO starting March 31st.

Some new photos have emerged from Game of Thrones‘ Moroccan set, which is where the scenes featuring the exiled Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) take place.  The series, which films in a number of locations including Northern Ireland, Malta and Croatia, has just added a third filming unit called “Raven” (in addition to “Dragon” and “Wolf”). It seems that one of the most complicated shooting schedules in television is growing larger (Growing Strong?).  Hit the jump for the photos and a few comments, with book and third season plot spoilers!

Let’s take a look at some recent casting additions:

• Demian Bichir (Savages) and Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) have joined Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes) in Dom Hemingway, director Richard Shepard’s crime comedy about the titular safe-cracker who’s out of prison and seeking what he’s owed.
• Devin Ratray (Buzz from Home Alone) has been cast as a villain in Alexander Payne’s black-and-white drama, Nebraska.  The picture stars Bruce Dern (Monster) as an alcoholic father to his estranged son (Will Forte) as they embark from Montana to Nebraska to claim a million-dollar Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes prize.
• Up-and-comer Boyd Holbrook (Milk) will topline the indie drama Little Accidents, a feature adaptation of writer/director Sara Coangelo’s award-winning short film by the same name which centers on a coal-mining town left devastated by a mining accident.

Hit the jump for more details on each film.

It’s lonely in the future for Captain America, aka Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), so Marvel has reportedly added a new love interest for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Details are scarce as to the actual character and whether or not she’ll appear in future Marvel movies, as the studio has a habit of signing talent to multi-picture deals. What is known is that the role is hotly contested, with some of today’s top female talent vying for it. Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Alison Brie (Community) and Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey) are in the mix. Hit the jump to see who else is competing for Rogers’ affections and to see what Marvel character might make a cameo appearance in the Cap sequel.

While we anxiously await the return of the third season of HBO’s Game of Thrones, you can get a behind-the-scenes look at the incredibly involved production process that’s necessary for bringing the George R.R. Martin bestselling series adaptation to life.  HBO has a new companion book available that features concept art and final production photos from the series so far.  To publicize this book, they’ve put together a concise video for it.  Be sure to get caught up on the new locations and cast members for the upcoming season of Game of Thrones, then hit the jump to check out the behind-the-scenes video.

Some more casting news today to add to the busy day of casting that Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has been having.  Here’s the news in brief:

• Juliette Lewis (The Other Sister) is in negotiations to join the family in August: Osage County, the dark comedy from The Weinstein Co. that stars Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.
• Sam Claflin (Snow White and the Huntsman) and Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) will join producer Pierre Morel’s European car heist flick, Overdrive, starring Karl Urban.

Hit the jump for more details on each project.

At last year’s Comic-Con, we couldn’t fathom why the programmers would stuff Game of Thrones into Ballroom 20, especially when there were so many sparsely-attended panels in Hall H.  This year, even though Hall H has plenty of good stuff, Game of Thrones is in the line-up and rightly so.  It’s easily one of the most popular geek properties currently on TV, and the show only got better in its second season.  While filming on Season 3 hasn’t begun, Season 2 is still fresh in the minds of fans, and Hall H was packed to see author George R.R. Martin and some of the cast to talk about the popular HBO series.

Hit the jump for the recap of the Game of Thrones panel, and click here for all of our Comic-Con coverage.

HBO’s Game of Thrones comes at an interesting time in geekdom, and its success speaks to the barriers that have been broken. Though fantasy and science fiction have often been popular cinematically, on television it’s been stuck in a Stargate-esque ghetto. But now we’ve got one of the most thoughtful shows currently on air on one of the most prestigious networks that also happens to be about dragons and swordplay. Perhaps the better arbiter of what crosses over to the mainstream and what doesn’t is quality, and Game of Thrones is definitely an engrossing show even for those who’ve never picked up a twenty sided die. Sean Bean, Lena Headey, Mark Addy and Peter Dinklage lead a mostly British cast in a tale about warring families in a fantastical middle age. Our review of Game of Thrones on DVD follows after the jump.

The cast and crew of the second season of HBO’s Game of Thrones are inviting you to join them as they return to the set of Westeros. The cast talks about what it’s like to be back for season two, while the crew gives insight on how they’ve made the sophomore run bigger and better than the original. You can also check out the previous videos, posters and image galleries we’ve posted to get caught up.  Fans of the show who can’t wait until the April 1^st debut of the second season will want to hit the jump to check out the video. New converts should check out all of our previous coverage, watch the video and then head over to this handy show guide for the uninitiated. The second season of Game of Thrones, adapted from George R.R. Martin’s best-selling books debuts April 1^st on HBO. Hit the jump to check out the video.