‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 4 Release Date: New Character ‘The Mountain’ Arrives In Westeros; Will Premiere Be Delayed?

“Game of Thrones” is getting another new character, set to appear in the highly anticipated fourth season of HBO’s acclaimed series, meet the Mountain. If you don’t remember the world of Westeros with much clarity, then you will probably have forgotten that you meet the Mountain already, and on two separate occasions. The Mountain, whose real name in George R.R. Martin’s epic series is Ser Gregor Clegane, has been played by two other actors, in the Season 1, Clegane was played by Conan Stevens in the episode, "Cripples, Bastard, and Broken Things," then in Season 2 Clegane was portrayed by Ian Whyte. However, for Season 4 it seems HBO has found a perfectly terrifying actor, the role of Sir Gregor Clegane significantly increases in Season 4 therefore we think Icelandic strongman Hafþór "Thor" Björnsson, who is currently portraying the character will be sticking around the “Game of Thrones” set. In a recent Instagram photo uploaded by Björnsson, the actor shows off his imposing 6’9” frame in some traditional Westeros garb. The actor captioned the snap, “Game of Thrones Season 4 #dubrovnik #got #mountain #croatia #sword #big #lovethis,” his many hashtags and snapshot provide some real insight in regards to the upcoming Season 4 of the series.

If you don’t know just who the Mountain is, I will first provide some background, to prepare you for a pretty exciting spoiler drop! Gregor Clegane, who is known fondly as The Mountain is the head of House Clegane, the name most likely sounds familiar because fans of “Game of Thrones” are well acquainted with his younger brother, Ser Sandor Cleagne, who once served as King Joffrey’s loyal lapdog and enforcer. While both knights, the Clegane are vicious and brutal savages, with the elder one being the most gruesome of the pair. The history of House Clegane is quite dark, however their future in Westeros proves to be even darker. The Mountain’s story will take hold of Season 4 due to his relationship with the Lannisters, as the ruling family’s sworn knight, the “frothing dog” does their bidding. Getting back to Björnsson’s impressive number of hashtags, there are a lot of clues within one innocent Instagram photo. First, “Game of Thrones” fans rejoice because it seems that we will be witnessing a great fight, in the photo the actor is seen in heavy plate and armor clearly dressed for battle, according to Chapter 70 in “A Storm of Swords,” the Mountain wears the heaviest, thickest plate armor in the Seven Kingdoms. Martin describes his armor as so heavy that no ordinary man would be able to move, let alone fight effectively while wearing it, making him a fearsome competitor in combat. In addition to his obviously chainmail and oversized armor, the actor is shown holding a massive sword in his hand. While he are assuming the actor is walking on set, normally knights place their swords within a sheath around their waist when not using their weapon. This leads me to believe that the Mountain is en route to battle, but with who and where?

Well, of course King’s Landing, the actor mentioned Croatia, which is one of the multiple filming locations for “Game of Thrones,” however it holds on very specific city, the capital and home of the Lannisters. And while you may be rejoicing that war has come to the city, it is less of a war and more of a duel. The Lannisters aren’t the only family with power in Westeros, and a new family has come to stake a claim. House Martell will be new to Season 4, the acting head of their household, Oberyn Martell, was also recently cast in the series, and the two new characters will engage in a vicious and vengeful trial by combat. While the picture certainly indicates that this epic sword fight will take place in Season 4, the down side is that “Game of Thrones” is clearly still filming, and with their spring of 2014 release date steadily approaching, this is certainly not good news.

While I love to see “Game of Thrones” cast members, it is certainly a bit concerning that they are still filming and there is much left to reveal after this battle versus houses. So here’s what we know, “Game of Thrones” is still filming, The Mountain is set to battle Oberyn Martell, and the projected spring of 2014 release date may be way off!