Game of Thrones first official Sand Snakes photos -- exclusive 

It’s the first official photos of the Sand Snakes! 

season 5 introduces a trio of deadly young women, all half-sisters from Dorne with the same powerful father (last season’s philandering, doomed Prince Oberyn Martell). What do they want? Revenge, of course! (They’re from Dorne, remember?) “It’s fun because they’re constantly fighting, but it’s the kind of family that if an outsider comes in, they all band together and unify,” says showrunner David Benioff, who cast actresses of different nationalities for the roles who all still manage to pass as siblings.   

There’s the eldest, Obara (Keisha Castle-Hughes, a Kiwi whose character takes after her dad by fighting with a spear), Nymeria (Jessica Henwick, a Brit who wields a bullwhip) and the youngest, crop-topped Tyene (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, an Italian- American who gets stabby with double daggers). “We haven’t seen women like this on

before,” observes Castle-Hughes. “You have lone wolves like Arya and Brienne, and others like Daenerys or Cersei, who are politically strong surrounded by men. But you haven’t seen women who are strong

– which is a dangerous thing. We’re three girls who are violent and manipulative who are thirsty for Lannister blood.” (You know, if you guys ever leave Dorne, you should really look up this girl named Arya…).

See all three exclusive photos below. And for more on the Sand Snakes and season 5, pick up this week’s double-issue of

 with 30 pages devoted to the past, present and future of

 And you also saw our earlier post on Arya’s new look, right? 

 and breaking TV news intel, follow James at @jameshibberd 

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