It’s been a while since we’ve seen any concrete filming, or even rehearsals, at the new King’s Landing set on Belfast’s Titanic Studios. With Itálica down in Spain closed down for filming yet nary a murmur coming out of it, thankfully the situation in Belfast has changed and we have yet another glimpse at what they’re filming on that immense set: soldiers were sighted manning the city walls—but were they Lannister … or Unsullied?
Eric Deering took the following photos of filming at Titanic Studios, which show people on the wooden platforms on top of the towers that guard the city gate. We know this is a shoot instead of just crew members admiring the scenery not only because they look vaguely more like soldiers, but more importantly because of the crane (for lighting?) and the fact that the modern safety rails that once surrounded the platforms are gone.
Photo: Eric Deering
Photo: Eric Deering
These pictures pose a bit of a conundrum regarding their context. On the one hand, the Lannister flags that so recently flew over the city gate are nowhere to be seen here, which may point to the featured soldiers being Unsullied after taking over the capital. On the other hand, you may notice the walls are intact, which suggests this scene takes place before the battle in King’s Landing. As you may recall, the gate was first built in ruins and later covered up with an intact facade, so that the set can quickly transition from before to after the city is breached, with no additional construction required.
This apparent discrepancy could mean a number of things. Maybe these shots avoid the gate, allowing for the scene to take place after the gate is destroyed. Perhaps the Lannisters are brought down by some other method, in which the wall is not breached, and the total obliteration of the gate happens later, perhaps at the hands—or rather, flame-throwing fauces—of the Night King’s wight dragon, Viserion. Or perhaps these aren’t Unsullied and the Lannister flags are missing for a perfectly innocent reason.
It could also mean something else entirely! Another interesting factor we may want to consider is that Maisie Williams and Nikolaj Coster Waldau have been on Belfast these last few days, though we don’t know if they were involved in the King’s Landing shoot. After all, Titanic Studis is full of interior sets. How would you solve this puzzle?
