‘Game of Thrones’ season 3 spoilers: Now shooting in … Los Angeles?

Just when you think that “Game of Thrones” season 3 is done shooting for the year, the producers pull a fast one and introduce a rather surprising filming location for some of the actors: the United States. While the HBO series did not necessarily shoot a substantial amount of footage in Los Angeles, they have been out in the City of Angels as of late to specifically work on one sequence of events that involves some select characters … and of course a gigantic bear.

The news of Bart the Bear II’s casting was first revealed by A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin in a post on his blog late last week, and while showrunner David Benioff did not really end up saying anything about the newest animal to join the cast in a chat with Entertainment Weekly, he did reference the new location as a way of explaining just the total extent of this show’s scope:

“For the first time, we’re flying in actors to L.A. … So it ends up being five countries and three units this year. It’s just exploded.”

In addition to working in America, the cast and crew has been everywhere from Iceland to Morocco to Croatia to Northern Ireland, which is the location of most of the soundstages and is where the vast majority of the series is shot. We’re not going to spoil for you just what the scenes with the bear are all about, but anyone who has read the Marin novel A Storm of Swords likely has a pretty good idea already (and is very excited about the prospects).

Have you had an opportunity yet to check out some of the “Game of Thrones” season 3 photos that are out there? If not, be sure to head over here to see the first images of Mance Rayder, the Reeds, and other new characters.

Photo: HBO