A good deal has been going on in the world of Game of Thrones, starting with the release of the Season 4 Bluray/DVD set in the U.S. and U.K. (Order: US Bluray, US DVD, UK Bluray, UK DVD), with a great deal of pomp and circumstance—especially in the UK, where the promotional push included an elaborate, pop-up restaurant installation created by The Wandering Chef for HBO UK:
At the same time, the Writer’s Guild of America awards saw Game of Thrones‘s writing staff nominated in two categories: best drama series, and best individual episode for George R.R. Martin’s “The Lion and the Rose”. While neither award went to Game of Thrones, it was an occasion for some interviews with George R.R. Martin. Access Hollywood learned from him that he’d recently met with the main writers of the show to discuss their plans for season 6, and teases the appearance of the Sand Snakes:
Even more notably, Martin remarked to Showbizz 411 that the upcoming fifth season—due to air on April 12 in the States, April 13 in the UK—will feature deaths of characters still alive in the books. This is not exactly news for show watchers as every season so far has killed off characters before their time (as far as the novels were concerned), most notably the killing of Robb’s wife at the Red Wedding (albeit she was a substantially changed character), but Martin’s comments make it sound like this season may be particularly heavy in the death toll… and it may feature some high-profile characters, as well. Speculation has run rampant as to just who these characters may be, as one can expect.