Westeros

We’ve taken a bit of a break after the rather exhausting season 3 of the series, but of course, the production never stands still: season 4 filming is soon to commence, roles have been cast, locations selected, and more. Below, you’ll find a quick round-up of some other Game of Thrones news over the last couple of weeks, for those curious as to what’s out there and what we know so far:

• Filming in Iceland: The head of Icelandic production company Pegasus Film has confirmed ( that Game of Thrones is coming back for season 4… but unlike last year, they’re filming in late July; quite a surprise, but we’re guessing that this will be used to represent some warm area near the Wall. Also notably, a casting call was put out for 20 bald male extras—we’re guessing that these will represent the Thenns, a specific tribe of wildlings.
• Filming in Croatia: The other notable location news is that Croatia will be used much more widely this year, with filming to branch out beyond Dubrovnik and its environs to the city of Split, the largest coastal city in Croatia, famed for being the site of Diocletian’s Palace.  Filming in Dubrovnik will take place over the course of a month, from mid-August to mid-September, and then be followed up by three weeks in Split, according to Embassy Films casting agency. Among specific locations being bandied about are the cellars of Diocletian’s palace and the medieval Klis Fortress, as well as a possible “desert scene” in the vicinity of Split. So, what are these locations? Certainly, Meereen—and Meereen’s interiors—seem very possible. Possibly some expansion of the King’s Landing exterior locations could also happen, one supposes. And might the desert scene provide a glimpse of Dorne? I’m dubious, especially as they have Morocco for that, if they want to.
• Returning Cast: Of course all the main cast—well, except the ones whose characters are dead—are returning, but there’s some happy news that a number of alumni of the past seasons will be showing their faces again. Among them? Andy Beckwith, who played Rorge in the 2nd season, Kate Dickie (Lysa Arryn) last seen in the 1st season (though she was to make an appearance in the 3rd season, according to all reports), and best of all (from our perspective), Owen Teale is set to return as Ser Alliser Thorne, former master-at-arms at Castle Black and nemesis of Jon Snow.
• Season 3 Exclusive Packaging: HBO, in collaboration with Best Buy, is letting fans vote on Best Buy’s exclusive packaging of the season 3 DVD/Blu-ray set. We’ve also been informed by Nordic retailer CDON that the winning packaging will be used for their own exclusive release. Of course, if you don’t care that much about the packaging, you can already pre-order via Amazon in the US and UK (US: DVD, Bluray. UK: DVD, Bluray)