New casting has been announced for the second season of HBO's Game of Thrones.  EW reports that Carice Van Houten (Black Book) and Stephen Dillane (John Adams) will play the sorceress Melisandre and Stannis Barantheon, respectively.  Per EW, Melissandre is a "powerful woman" who councils Stannis in his quest to take the Iron Throne.  Badass Digest helpfully adds, "Melisandre comes from Asshai, a mysterious Eastern kingdom where magic still rules, and she is the prophet of a new, monotheistic religion that she seeks to bring to Westeros."  As for Stannis, EW describes the former king's older brother as "humorless and authoritative, with a strict moral code" but "gradually succumbing to the power of his newfound religion."  I don't know how well-suited each actor is for their role since I haven't read the books, but I do know that I liked Van Houten and Dillane in Black Book and John Adams, respectively.

The second season of Game of Thrones will premiere in spring 2012.