HBO is currently hard at work filming the pilot for an upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series, one set thousands of years before the original show. We’ve seen plenty of images from the set lately, including confirmation of the title, actors and props, and on-location shots. From what we can tell, caves will play an important part in the pilot, or at least we’ve seen a lot of a cave set they’ve built at Titanic Studios in Northern Ireland:
I think it looks like a mini cave system
04/06/2019#Bloodmoon pic.twitter.com/KsAp0JCQ1p— A Red Priestess (@a_red_priestess) June 10, 2019
Ah, but what’s in the cave? Thanks to Watchers on the Wall, we have an idea, and it’s pretty unexpected. Watchers has gotten hold of a new photo of the cave set. When you zoom in, you can see a statue of…last chance to bail before the SPOILERS start coming…a lion:
As all Game of Thrones fans know, lions in Westeros mean only one thing: Lannisters. But Blood Moon, for so the new series is called, is set during the Age of Heroes, before the Lannisters were around. So what are we looking at? Time to speculate wildly.
Before the Lannisters took up residence in Casterly Rock, the seaside palace was ruled by…appropriately enough…the Casterlys. Accounts of this time period are shrouded in fog and mystery, but legend has it that the gods gifted Corlos Casterly with knowledge of where to mine for gold after he spared the cubs of a lion he killed. He did indeed find gold on that spot, and over time his family built a great fortress — Casterly Rock — on top of it, becoming the richest family in the Seven Kingdoms in the process.
Eventually, someone named Lann the Clever came along and somehow tricked the Casterlys out of Casterly Rock. Again, the details are vague, but Lann’s descendants became the Lannisters, many of whom had their ancestor’s gift for deceit, as we well know.
So even if the Lannister’s weren’t around during the Age of Heroes, a house with a lion sigil was. Perhaps we’ll see exactly how Lann the Clever managed to get ahold of Casterly Rock? I’ve wondered for a while if cast member Naomi Watts might not play Lann; she has the hair for it.
Watchers also got a pretty good look at the prop board on set. It mentions the following locations for the pilot:
- WI Court
- Village
- Inn
- Enclave
- Barn
- SY + RA House
- Long Hall
- Fort Hall/Bath House
- Oubliette
- Terraces
Some of these — like “Village” and “Barn” are clear enough. Others, like “SY + RA House,” I don’t feel like I have enough information to intelligently comment on. And “Oubliette,” for those wondering, is a kind of dungeon only accessible through a trapdoor in the ceiling. You don’t want to be held in one of the those. And could “WI Court” mean Winterfell court? The castle was around back then…
Discuss all of this below! Let’s break it down.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Watch Game of Thrones for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels
