New ‘Game of Thrones’ Stills Released Ahead of Season 4 Premiere

New imagery from HBO’s Game of Thrones have been released in anticipation of the season 4 premiere on Sunday, April 6, 2014. The images, which were released by the UK’s Sky Atlantic, show characters both old and new.

Fans of Game of Thrones that have yet to read the books probably aren’t surprised to hear that a new host of characters will be introduced with the upcoming season. Thus far, the show has only covered the top 2/3rds of the continent of Westeros as well as various locations to the east, but there is still the South to consider, where the Tyrells and Martells live. The most notable new character to emerge will likely be Dornish prince Oberyn Martell a.k.a. the Red Viper, played by Pablo Pascal.

Martell will appear in the premiere episode of Game of Thrones alongside Ellaria Sand (the Jon Snow surname of Dorne), played by Rome’s Indira Varma. Earlier this month, Pascal spoke with Entertainment Weekly, telling them that he’d been surprised when he saw the script pages for his audition. “I was actually really upset the season was spoiled for me. I was a true audience member of the show and when this audition came around, it still seemed unattainable.”

Being a fan of the show, Pascal arrived on set to find the pressure was immediately on. His first scene involved a crucial conversation between Martell and Tyrion Lannister. Showrunner Dan Weiss said, “It took a long time to convince him that he actually had gotten it more than right.”

Another character shown (though technically not new) is Myranda, who was one of the females that taunted Theon Greyjoy in his prison in Game of Thrones Season 3. She’s seen in the trailer “Devil” shooting with a bow and arrow, and with this still, we can probably assume she’ll take on a larger role in the Ramsay Snow and Theon Greyjoy storyline.

One of the highlights of the new Game of Thrones season promises to come with the event of the Royal Wedding between King Joffrey Baratheon and Margaery Tyrell, played by Natalie Dormer. A batch of recently released behind the scenes featurettes on the Game of Thrones YouTube channel showcased the lavish costumes and trays and trays of decadent dishes worthy of a George R. R. Martin penned feast.

Are you ready for the new Thrones season? New character deaths are inevitable with this show, so who do you think will bite the big one in 2014?