Game of Thrones season seven might be over, but pre-production for the eighth season has been underway for over a month now, as filming is slated begin next month. We previously reported on the mysterious construction work going on at the Winterfell set, and today we bring you an update — it’s fair to say the remodeling is extensive.
While many Game of Thrones sets are housed in their Belfast studios, the Winterfell one is located in Moneyglass, so shots from fans are a relatively common occurrence. Today, Alina Stark was one such fan, sharing photos with a hell of a good zoom:
A lot of work going on at Winterfell Set @WatchersOTWall @WiCnet pic.twitter.com/IQUn1VxA8M
— Alina (@alinaastark) September 15, 2017
A closer look makes it clear that the crew isn’t just sprucing up the place:
Apparently, the towers that guard the Winterfell gate, along with a large portion of the outer walls, have been reconstructed from the ground up or, at the very least, remodeled extensively. The work obviously isn’t done — don’t worry, Winterfell isn’t being infected by the Red Keep; the reddish-brown is just naked wood.
Granted, construction work at Moneyglass is par for the course for Game of Thrones. Even after the much more elaborate set that stands today was built for the fifth season, it still had to be fixed up for season six, presumably because the building suffered deterioration in winter. If the damage this year was particularly extensive, that would explain why they had to rebuild the entire outer section. There could be production or story reasons for it, but the set is already highly interconnected, so there is no need for expansion, and the walls look exactly like the old ones. The only difference seems to be the towers reach to the very top — previously, that was achieved through VFX.
Still, no sensible explanation will stop the frenzied speculation about why they’re rebuilding part of Winterfell, especially now that the White Walkers might go attack the ancient stronghold. Considering the Night King has an undead fire-breathing dragon under his thrall now, let’s just be content that the fictional Winterfell isn’t made of wood.
