Comic-Con: Thrones additions rouse fans

Diana Rigg was crowned a queen at Comic-Con — and she wasn’t even there.

The 73-year-old actress and several others were revealed on Friday as joining the cast of HBO’s Game of Thrones for the fantasy series’ upcoming third season. The former star of The Avengers will play Olenna Tyrell, also known as the Queen of Thorns.

Other additions include Mackenzie Crook as wildling raider Orell, Clive Russell as Bryndon “Blackfish” Tully, Nathalie Emannuel as slave translator Missandei, Paul Kaye as Thoros of Myr, Kerry Ingram as Shireen Baratheon and Tara Fitzgerald as her mother, Selyse.

The new cast members were not on hand at the show’s presentation at the pop-culture convention. Instead, a video of interviews with the new cast members was shown and fans asked questions of actors Richard Madden, Michelle Fairley, Alfie Allen, Emilia Clarke, Rose Leslie, producer Carolyn Straus and George R.R. Martin, the author of the book series that Game of Thrones is based on.

“It’s not a simple world of heroes and villains,” said Allen. “The characters have flaws.”

Other than revealing the new cast members, no information about the next season was spilled, except that it was filming in Ireland, Croatia, Iceland and Morocco.

The next season of Game of Thrones will premiere in the US on March 31, 2013.