Game Of Thrones Season 3 Character Posters Showcase Returning Favorites... And Joffrey

March has arrived which means it's finally less than a month until Game of Thrones returns for its highly anticipated third season. Audiences have been dying to see more of the hugely popular and critically acclaimed HBO series pretty much from the second the second finished but have been forced to wait over nine months. Babies have been born who have never even known the winter, however, winter is... you know, soon. I guess the long off-season allowed fans plenty of time to actually read George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Fire and Ice" saga but who wants to do that now that it's all being played out so wonderfully on the small screen.

The books will still be there after Game of Thrones has finished its run on HBO and this way you won't become one of those annoying purists (like me) who's always fretting over whether or not D.B. Weiss and David Benioff are adapting it properly. Besides, the show has stuck closely to the whole 'fire and ice' theme, especially when it comes to these rad new character posters that the Game of Thrones twitter feed has been rolling out one by one. No newcomers are featured, but take a look at a dozen returning favorites. Favorite may be a strong word to describe some of the characters...

First, the Starks. And a Snow. No Rickon though.

Then the Lannisters. Plus their faithful Hound.

And last, the lovely but lonely Khaleesi, Daenerys of House Targaryen.

Oh, and if you somehow missed the new trailer (or just want to see it again) check it out here. The third season of Game of Thrones premieres on Sunday, March 31 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO. The series stars Peter Dinklage, Kit Harrington, Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.