There are less than two weeks between now and the “Game of Thrones” season four finale, but it’s never too late to start considering season five.

In fact, it appears that the team behind “Game of Thrones” is already hard at work on the HBO show’s fifth season, based on some casting breakdowns that recently appeared over on WinterIsComing.net. The breakdowns include a bunch of characters who are familiar to readers of “A Feast for Crows” and “A Dance with Dragons,” the fourth and fifth books in George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, and the templates for the upcoming season. But there are some notable omissions as well — characters who aren’t mentioned on the list, but absolutely need to factor into season five.

Here’s our breakdown of nine characters we need to see on “Game of Thrones” season five, plus some casting picks. SPOILERS ahead for those who have not read the books:

Doran Martell
Who Is He?: He is Oberyn’s brother, and the ruling prince of Dorne. It looks like Doran has a major role to play in season five, based on the leaked casting breakdowns, not to mention that whole Red Viper debacle. Doran suffers from a bad case of gout, leaving him in a wheelchair and reluctant to take face-to-face meetings with just about anyone outside of his inner circle. His stance on the Lannisters seems soft on the surface, but dig deeper and you’ll find a soul as cold and calculating as Oberyn ...

Warning: Spoilers from last Sunday’s “Game of Thrones” lurk ahead!

“The Mountain and the Viper” stands out as one of the most exciting, edge-of-your-seat episodes of “Game of Thrones” yet, thanks to the titular battle between Ser Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane and Prince Oberyn Martell of Dorne. Sadly, it did not end the way that many fans hoped it would — there was a “sickening crunch” in the final moments of the battle, but it was the hero, not the villain, who ended up on the ground with his head smashed in.

It’s a depressing outcome for fans of the Red Viper (and equally depressing for Tyrion fans; in the wake of the Viper’s loss, the little Lannister that could has been sentenced to death), but it’s straight out of George R.R. Martin’s novels — hard to deviate from the source material on this one.

Then again, maybe the episode would have improved if show runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss decided to change what Martin had written, at least in this instance. In fact, we’re sure of it, thanks to the following re-edited version of the battle between the Viper and the Mountain:

Really, any excuse to get Ser Pounce back in the mix is a good excuse.

“Game of Thrones” airs the penultimate episode of season four on Sunday.

Josh Wigler

There is only a little bit less than a year between right now and the release of “Fast & Furious 7,” but still, the details on the story of the next film in the hard-racing franchise are scarce at best.

Until we see a trailer, or an official poster from the film, we’ll take just about anything we can get to satiate the wait for Dom Toretto and Brian O’Conner’s final race together. Case in point: this new photo from the “Fast & Furious 7″ set, featuring Vin Diesel hugging it out with Jordana Brewster:

Brewster plays Dom’s sister Mia in the “Fast and Furious” franchise; she’s also Brian’s wife and the mother of his child. Because of Paul Walker’s sudden and tragic death late last year, the Brian character will be retired from the “Fast and Furious” series following the seventh film. Where does that leave Mia? Will she be retired as well — and if so, is this a goodbye between brother and sister?

We’ll find out for sure when “Fast & Furious 7″ races onto the screen on April 10, 2015.

Josh Wigler

Warning: Major spoilers from last Sunday’s “Game of Thrones” are ahead!

Is your head still reeling from the latest “Game of Thrones” twist? Poor choice of words, but you know what we mean.

With last Sunday’s episode, “The Mountain and the Viper,” the HBO fantasy series offered up its single most gruesome death to date: The Mountain literally popping the Red Viper’s head like a juicy pimple. It’s about as disgusting as it gets on a show already brimming with disgusting deaths.

We can only guess how you reacted in your living room on Sunday night, but we imagine it went a little something like this:

That’s the gathered crowd at Burlington Bar in Chicago watching and reacting to the battle between the Red Viper and the Mountain, from the first strike to the final head-pop. Basically, it’s how every single “Game of Thrones” viewer reacted on Sunday night, even if only in their hearts.

What did you think of the the Red Viper’s death at the hands of the Mountain?

Josh Wigler

If you’re looking forward to the Wachowski siblings’ next film, “Jupiter Ascending,” then you’re going to have to keep looking forward for a little while longer.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the release date for “Jupiter Ascending,” starring Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis, has been pushed back seven months to February 6, 2015. It was originally slated to open next month on July 18.

The THR report indicates that “Jupiter” needed more special effects work, hence the delay. But the report also notes that “bad buzz likely sparked concern on the Warner Bros. lot,” as well.

In fairness, the premise of “Jupiter Ascending” is pretty far out there. The movie focuses on a cleaning lady (Kunis) who is captured and nearly killed, only to be freed by a gun-toting alien with elf ears (Tatum), there to rescue her because she’s secretly a galactic princess. Even for the Wachowskis, it’s a bit of a leap.

Whether or not “Jupiter” was moved because the film doesn’t work for the summer blockbuster season, or doesn’t work period, or simply needs some massaging in the visual effects department as according to the official explanation — who can say. What we can say is that the summer of 2014 just got a little less crowded, and the juggernaut field of 2015 has added another possible titan to the mix.

What do you think of the “Jupiter Ascending” release date shift?

Josh Wigler

The threat of “Game of Thrones” catching up with George R.R. Martin has always been very real — but never more so than it is now.

With the season four finale of “Thrones” less than two weeks away, fans of Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels have more than a few reasons to be concerned. As of season five, show runners and writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will start digging into the next two novels in the series: “A Feast for Crows” and “A Dance with Dragons,” two behemoth-sized books that take place concurrently, but feature different sets of characters and locations.

Many believe that “Feast” and “Dance” contain enough material to carry across two seasons of “Game of Thrones.” Except that “Thrones” has already started adapting material from those books, as early as season three, in fact. At the current rate, certain characters on the show will have caught up with their book counterparts by the end of this season, let alone next season.

Fans hope that “The Winds of Winter,” the penultimate novel in Martin’s series, will be on shelves before much longer. Even then, there’s cause for concern, based on the fact that Martin’s editor Anne Groell recently said (via Hypable) that the “Ice and Fire” saga, currently planned to end with the seventh book, could go as long as eight books.

“There are really technically eight kingdoms,” she said, “So, maybe eight books for Seven Kingdoms would be okay.”

At Martin’s current pace, an eighth ...

Warning: Major spoilers from last Sunday’s “Game of Thrones” are ahead.

Even though the duel is officially over, chances are high that many “Game of Thrones” viewers have replayed the final battle between the Red Viper and the Mountain on a loop ever since the head-pop heard ’round the world.

Indeed, the last stand of Oberyn Martell stands out as one of the very best fight scenes ever featured on “Game of Thrones,” thanks in large to the Viper’s own unique fighting style. HBO has released a behind-the-scenes featurette that reveals exactly how the “Thrones” creators pulled off the epic “Mountain and the Viper” fight scene, which required actor Pedro Pascal to train in the art of Wushu.

“He was more prepared than any actor I’ve ever seen,” director Alex Graves said of Pascal’s research into fighting as the Viper. “It became the easiest thing we shot.”

Less easy, of course, is losing Oberyn from the story. He’s plucked from this mortal coil right at the height of his righteous cause, crushed to death by the vicious Mountain, proving once and for all that in the world of Westeros, the boot always beats the beetle.

In another behind-the-scenes video, show runner David Benioff explains why the Red Viper lost the battle against the Mountain, and what makes him such a magnetic personality.

Were you shocked by the Red Viper’s gruesome demise?

Josh Wigler

Warning: Major spoilers from last night’s “Game of Thrones,” and potential spoilers for future episodes, are ahead!

On last night’s “Game of Thrones,” titled “The Mountain and the Viper,” one of the season’s most exciting plot threads came to a violent end.

Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper of Dorne, came to King’s Landing in the first episode of season four to attend Joffrey Baratheon’s royal wedding. But he nursed a not-so-secret vendetta against the entire Lannister family for their role in the murder of Oberyn’s sister Elia, wife of Rhaegar Targaryen. Specifically, Oberyn wanted justice against Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane, the man who raped Elia, murdered her, and killed her children.

With Tyrion framed for killing King Joffrey, the Red Viper took it upon himself to defend the Imp in trial by combat against a champion of Cersei Lannister’s choosing. That champion just so happened to be The Mountain — the man that Oberyn came to King’s Landing to kill.

Unfortunately for Oberyn, and just as unfortunately for Tyrion, the Red Viper was not successful, to put it gently. The Mountain crushed Oberyn’s head in his hands like an overripe fruit, ending one of the season’s best characters with a “sickening crunch.”

It was one of the most gruesome scenes “Game of Thrones” has offered up thus far. But how does it compare to Oberyn’s death in the books? Let’s take a look.

Oberyn enters the picture in the third book in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, titled “A ...

Filming is underway on “Star Wars: Episode VII,” but don’t expect J.J. Abrams and Disney to fully open the mystery box until a little further down the line.

But even if we’re still a while away from official trailers and stills from the film, it’s very much the season for sneak peeks from the set of the new “Star Wars” movie. TMZ has posted an extensive photo gallery from the film’s shoot in Abu Dhabi, a location that many assume will double for Tatooine.

The TMZ photos include a first look at a massive four-legged alien creature that looks like a cross between a rhinoceros, a pig and a bulldog. According to the outlet, the creature was used in two scenes and was operated using “five men inside its belly” — a testament to the new “Star Wars” film’s reliance on practical effects wherever possible.

Other photos even show what appear to be remnants of a pod-racer, popularized in the first episode of the prequel trilogy, “The Phantom Menace.” Looks like all areas of the “Star Wars” movie universe are alive and accounted for in “Episode VII.”

Click over to TMZ to check out the alien and a whole lot more.

“Star Wars: Episode VII” opens on December 18, 2015.

Josh Wigler

And another one bites the dust.

Following Edgar Wright’s “Ant-Man” departure , Marvel has been left with the unenviable task of tracking down a new director. Late last week, three new names emerged as candidates: Rawson Thurber (“We’re The Millers” and “Dodgeball”), Ruben Fleischer (“Zombieland” and “Gangster Squad”) and Adam McKay (“Anchorman” and “Step Brothers”).

McKay quickly became the front runner for fans, and the front runner in reality. On Friday night, it was reported that Marvel and McKay were in advanced talks for the “Ant-Man” job, and that the deal was expected to close quickly.

But somewhere between Friday night and Saturday afternoon, things took a turn, as McKay decided not to direct “Ant-Man” after all. The filmmaker confirmed on Twitter that he met with Marvel, but indicated that a deal simply wasn’t possible:

“Not sure it can work” isn’t exactly “never gonna happen,” but Marvel needs to finalize a director soon, given that “Ant-Man” needs to get into production next month in order to meet its July 17, 2015 release date.

At this point, some are wondering if Marvel won’t just scrap the whole project altogether, especially considering reports that a weak script not only sent Wright packing, but may have repelled McKay as well.

Who knew that such a small superhero could cause such big drama?

Who do you think will wind up directing “Ant-Man” in the end?

Josh Wigler