HBO
The eighth and final season of Game Of Thrones has long been guaranteed to be an epic event, but now it seems as though it may feature things we’ve never seen before on television … and maybe even in the movies. And despite the fact that the show has always established itself as a once-in-a-lifetime pop cultural phenomenon, that doesn’t mean they’re about to rest on their laurels.
Yes, we know there are only going to be six episodes — but those episodes are reportedly longer than 90 minutes each, and some of those episodes are going to feature the biggest battle scenes we’ve ever seen.
According to Watchers on the Wall (the go-to blog for all things Game of Thrones), the cast and crew of the HBO fantasy epic just wrapped a 55 consecutive night shoot of what’s reportedly a massive battle. That length — almost two months –is more than double the amount of time it took to film their previous large-scale action scenes such as “Hardhome”, “Battle of the Bastards” and “Beyond the Wall”.
Jonathan Quinlan, an assistant director on Thrones posted a thank you note to the cast and crew on Instagram, claiming that what they’ve done will result in something “that’s never been done before.” Sure, that may be setting the bar a little high, bu
via Watchers on the Wall:
The note cites “the cold, the snow, the rain, the mud, the sheep shit of Toome”, in reference to the Winterfell set in Moneyglass, Toome; as well as “the winds of Magheramorne.” In the caption below the photo, Quinlan helpfully added: “Says it all. 55 consecutive nights. 11 weeks. 3 locations. You’ll never again see anything like it.”
These two and a half months of shooting more than double the previous record for a Game of Thrones battle shoot—which likely already was a TV record, as well. Unless the upcoming King’s Landing shoot dethrones it, which seems unlikely, this battle of Winterfell will be the biggest, most expensive action scene we’ve ever seen on TV. Of course, shooting time doesn’t necessarily translate to screen time, so this may or may not be the longest battle in the show, but it will certainly be the most elaborate.
As for the “3 locations” Quinlan makes reference to, aside from the obvious Moneyglass and Magheramorne (specified by the producers’ note and reported on by us for months), the mystery location could be Saintfield, in which we know they filmed but little else.
What could possibly take 55 days to shoot? Well, likely the final battle (or battles) of the show: the living versus the dead, the light versus the dark, the fire versus the ice. Honestly, I’m getting a semi just thinking about it. Let’s more on.
Quinlan has since deleted the original photo from his Instagram (you know someone higher up didn’t like that leak, if just a minor one).
