HBO made a few announcements today regarding Game of Thrones Season 3, though no casting decisions have been made yet.

While we await word on who will come on board in the key roles of Mance Rayder, Beric Dondarrion and others, we can report...

... Production will get underway in early July.

... Filming will take place in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Croatia and Iceland.

... Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will each direct an episode. So will Alex Graves, Michelle MacLaren, Dan Minahan, David Nutter and Alik Sakharov.

... Writers will include Benioff, Weiss, Bryan Cogman, George R.R. Martin and Vanessa Taylor.

That's it for now. But HBO also confirmed casting announcements will be made in the near future, so stay tuned to TV Fanatic for a great deal more as the summer rolls along.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.