After managing to stay out of the spotlight for a week or so, the Winterfell set at Moneyglass, Northern Ireland, is back in the thick of it. Big SPOILERS for Game of Thrones season 8 follow.
Easily the bigger spoiler to leak out of the season 8 so far has to do with the Winterfell set. Back in late January, the production filmed a big battle scene there, a sequence that made use of anywhere between 200 and 500 extras. Then, for the grand finale, it lit the place on fire, portending all kinds of apocalyptic plot developments for the Stark home base.
You’d think that after this, the set would be closed for business, but there have been indications that filming has continued. At the least, there’s still equipment and trucks in the area, so the fire may have been a controlled burn orchestrated not to damage the set to the point where it couldn’t be used again.
Then, this past Tuesday, Davy ‘Kingo’ King shared four photos of the Winterfell set from a distance, where shooting again appeared to be underway. Here’s that:
Whatever the production was filming in January, it looks like they’re not done.
We don’t know who which director is shooting this battle, but considering the intensity of the material and the length of time this sequence is taking to film, Miguel Sapochnik — the man behind “Hardhome,” “Battle of the Bastards” — seems like a good bet.
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – FEBRUARY 04: Director Miguel Sapochnik, winner of the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series for the ‘Game of Thrones’ episode ‘The Battle of the Bastards,’ poses in the press room during the 69th Annual Directors Guild of America Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 4, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
For reference, both the Massacre at Hardhome and the Battle of the Bastards took over three weeks to film, so this extended shoot seems to track with Sapochnik’s M.O. Sapochnik is shooting Episodes 3 and 5 of season 8 — we’ll calling this one for Episode 3. Stay tuned.
And thanks to the reader who pointed us toward the video and images!
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