While Game of Thrones wraps location filming in Spain, the cast and crew has been hard at work back in Northern Ireland. The season seven set created at Wolf Hill Quarry has been home to filming these last few weeks, and involves multiple major cast members from the show. Spoiler reports have given us a glimpse of what the icy site is being used for, and we’ve had several previous cast sightings confirming early rumors about who might be involved with this northern action sequence. Director Alan Taylor has been seen with the cast around Belfast, confirming reports that the scene is intended for episode 6 of the new season. The latest sightings from the city involve some of the actors spotted before, and we can add another name into the mix, confirming a season seven return.
A handful of GoT cast members were out to dinner yesterday at Mumbai 27, a restaurant in Belfast, and ran into several fans. Luckily, the fans shared photos of the encounter. In addition to meeting Kit Harington (above), people also met Iain Glen, Kristofer Hivju…and Joseph Mawle.
Benjen Stark was rumored to be returning for a brief season seven role, and now with Mawle’s sighting, we finally have proof! Given who he’s hanging around with, can we expect to see undead Benjen in the quarry-based action? It seems likely.
Mawle probably holds the series record for waits between appearances, does he not?
[Leaks discussion]
Benjen! Glad to see the Starks reuniting.
Uncle Ben!
leaks
Thank you Uncle Benjen!
For leaving us beyond the wall with no horse when one of us can’t walk.
Namaste.
Sean C.,
Yes to everything!
Game of Thrones marathon on HBO 2. I hope this means we’ll get a teaser soon.
Sean C.,
I think this is 3 weeks now that they have been filming at this site? Add to this, a week or two in Iceland, that’s a big filming period for one episode.
It would be nice to see Benjen reunited with Jon, maybe they can talk about family. 🙂
Flayed Potatoes,
Amen to that. But I guess it will probably be like last year’s S1-5 footage with Bran’s and 3ER’s voiceover, nothing new…
Christmas is next weekend, when do they knock off?
Happy to see Joseph Mawle back! And hopefully he and Jon will have and emotional scene together.
Speaking of Kit Harington– Michael Condron was a guest on a podcast and said that the NW cast used to play trivia among other things during their down time and it turns out Kit had the best screenname of all times: therealjonsnow
https://soundcloud.com/girlclumsy/raven-on-special-guest-edition-michael-condron#t=38:20
He also says some real nice things about Kit and the rest of them, and talks about some technical behind the scenes stuff. It’s a very good interview!
Flayed Potatoes,
Doubt we’d be so lucky, filming doesn’t end until February. We probably won’t see any teaser or trailer until May, or April at the earliest.
Though I’d be thrilled to be proven wrong.
I love Joseph Mawle, and he’s a great inspiration for becoming successful in your goals while dealing with disabilities. Benjen ❤❤❤
Benjen Stark is among the best looking guys in Westeros- and he is now a zombie 🙁
Joseph Mawles and Tom Hopper : I hope you help me endure all the torture porn.
Rhaenys Stark,
I’m desperate for anything at this point.
Markus Stark,
A brief tease would be enough for me. I’m not expecting a trailer so soon.
Character location doesn’t authomatically mean plot details are as described. Benjen might as well meet the suicide squad before the big confrontation. I for one would rather not
What if… Benjen comes back with Hodor?? *dreams* :,)
Aryamad,
I want to see wight Hodor and wight Summer in the future!
Flayed Potatoes,
That would be cool.
Not that I wouldn’t love one but I’m actually not ‘needing’ a trailer as badly right now. A lot of that has to do with all of the spoiler info and the leaks that become more and more true. I’m not saying all of that is a bad thing for me. That’s been great! I think it’s more about being fairly satisfied at the moment. The trailers are fun to see new shots of the characters and such but they don’t usually give away too much. So, I can wait until the ‘dead period’ after filming is complete for that kind of stuff.
It is rather interesting that things, cast gatherings in certain locations and such continue lining up with the leaks. I wonder if they’ll ever catch those responsible… or if they truly care. It certainly does keep fans engaged over a period when we could have little to talk about.
I don’t know man, those three attractive guys, with three attractive fans and drinks… Someone got laid that night haha
I have been disappointed that the leaks seem to be true in general, but I am looking forward to this reunion. Uncle Ben is probably the family member Jon has had the most total screen time with, not counting Maester Aemon. [/ spoiler]
for the old and the new god’s shake, is there anything the leaks have guessed wrong?
I remember when I read them, I was like, “yeaah…this is not gonna happen” Oh dear sweet sweet summer child….little did I know…
hahahah now I know what’s going to happen on season 7, I couldn’t resist myself 🙁
Three girls for three guys… hmmmmmmm
It’s pointless adding points in the leaks favour at this stage- and had been for some time. It’s clear the leak is completely legit.
The show has yet to play this card- and I feel they need to. We need to see beloved characters returning as wights to devour other beloved characters. It wouldn’t be GOT if they don’t use a twist like this to tear us all to pieces (pun unintended). I swear to the many faced God if S8 consists of just one huge battle with the 7Ks vs the WWs I’m gonna barf. It’d be such an anticlimax for me.
season seven wil be the best, about a trailer….. hahaha, dont see one coming until march. S7 should premiere in july.
Apollo,
yeah, but we will have a great build for this battle, and what a battle, less than 60 days of filming is BS. I just hope S8 have at least 7 episodes as S7. But for me the ideal would be 8 more episode just of the WW in westeros and the final battle, more 8 episodes the final cut would have 75 episodes. the ideal in my opinion, I just hope is not only six more since is not confirmed.
Maybe his horse was also dead and couldn’t pass the barrier? Haven’t thought of that?
ghost of winterfell,
Leaks
Markus Stark,
That’s what I’m thinking, too, but they can probably throw out a teaser before then like they did last year. Previous first trailers have aired anywhere from seven weeks to three months after filming wrapped, so if they finish in late January or early February, anywhere from mid-March to early May for the first trailer would be plausible. I don’t mind waiting so long as HBO doesn’t needlessly delay the premiere once post-production on the Season is done. With their security, all seven episodes would leak online in the interim.
I just always wonder why he couldn’t have taken them all the way to the gate. He didn’t say “this is as close as I can get,” but rather, “this is where I leave ya,” followed by saying why he can’t pass the wall. He could have ridden off before the NW came out and have Bran tell them why. Eh, whatever… Bran needed to use the weirwood tree for a more important final scene than that.
Something like reanimated Joffrey taking out Sansa would be fun. Ha! poke
Apollo,
That’s premature, we have nothing to back up any interior spoilers. Nothing to back up details of the wight hunt. Nothing to back up some other details, like
(the few he actually gave). We also know there are quite a few things the guy didn’t mention (who knows what else he ommitted). And given there’s no context in the spoilers, things could be really different when it’s introduced in the show. Let’s not forget rewrites/cutting room floor/out-of-script scenes added in/alterations etc. Never is the finished product exactly like written in the script, less so in storyboards. So let’s refrain from saying it’s completely true.
Omitted or didn’t know about.
Of course there will be more to season 7 than what the leaks said – they did not give us a complete compendium of the next season. And of course there may be changes. And there are things in the leaks that will not be verified or falsified at all until the show airs – because of interior scenes we don’t get paparazzi shots of, because of cgi, and so on.
But every little thing we’ve seen up to now totally confirmed what he said in his leaks, not a single of his claims could be falsified. Imho that’s a solid base to say those leaks are legit, and with high probability completely true 😉 .
phantomcloud,
You need to stick to one screen name at WotW. Them’s the rules.
Ser Bergh,
Confirmed is too strong a word, ‘having some evidence’ to back up several outdoor spoilers might be more appropriate. I’ve seen that the issue of canary traps has been barely touched upon. But even the guy commented on them being a high possibility in his leak. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few in there.
Still the supposed source being scripts from ‘someone from the top’ is too unbelievable. No one, who invested a lot in a project, would sabotage it, risk legal action and career suicide like that, esp for free. It’s a small circle at the top, they’d identify the culprit in a matter of an hour. Not to mention the source changed from him having been told about s7 by a friend of a writer’s to having read printed scripts from ”someone from the top’. They don’t print scripts, at least in their entirety from what I’ve heard. He also said The Big Tree was a project title for s7, another source claimed it’s a name of the ltd company set up for the episodes featured in that call sheet.
To make myself clear, he talked about The Big Tree only when specifically asked about that name on the call sheet.
ghost of winterfell,
I don’t think anything that the Lads leaker said will be wrong but I do think there are things probably smaller things but things we don’t know about will happen probably in more interior scenes that he didn’t know about.
phantomcloud,
I heard someone say “The Big Tree” was the name of a Ltd company they created for the production of that episode not the actual episode title
The only ways Benjen is in a scene with either of these guys is if,
A. they all go North of the Wall
or
B. The Wall has fallen and that would mean the White Walkers are in Westeros.
Benjen said himself at the end of S6 he cant pass the Wall. Now if Bran passing the wall breaks the Magic then Benjen could go head down into Westeros, but so could the WW’s. I dont think that will happen until at least the end of S7, probably beginning of S8.
Clob,
An interesting idea, but I think they would have a problem reanimating Joffrey seeing that his mortal remains were blown to pieces when Cersei fire bombed the Sept of Baelor 😉
This only proves further that leak is legit. Although I must say, I am quite happy to see Benjen returning and possibly reuniting with one of the “Starks”.
Clob,
If he went all the way to the wall and if some man of the night watch recognised him, it will be a different story. May be he likes to remain incognito. Or maybe it’s just poor writing
Clob,
I agree. But as the leaks spilled onto main sites I would expect HBO to come down hard on the leaker.
JackSparrow,
There are 1000’s of crew members though, a bit hard to find out which ones are leaking things especially if it’s just one.
I think they probably aren’t as worried of leaked scripts as you would only know about them if you go looking for them or go on this site or reddit not the general audience also in the leaks no actual dialogue is said word for word so I imagine even with the leaks you still get surprised by what’s happening when you watch the episodes. What they probably care about more is actual episodes being leaked before they air them so people who have HBO stream them or download them instead of watching them live on their channel making them loose money.
Well, the leaker had actually read the script, said he was in his 40s and used the word “wee”, which means he’s scottish. That narrows it down quite a bit.
Inga,
Sundae,
This is hilarious and insightful! Thanks for sharing!
Flayed Potatoes,
LOL ?
Maybe because it’s a dead horse and can’t cross the wall? I wondered about that too ?
Aguero,
I agree. Six episodes doesn’t seem enough to tell about the WW in the seven kingdoms attacking the common folk and how they’ll run to KL only to have Cersei have it in lockdown.
I think that Winterfell might have a special barrier similar to the Wall since they were both built by Bran the Builder. That may be a castle that survives but the rest …
I hope they get to do the story justice in the amount of episodes they have left.
Jon’s Mom,
I rewatched the scene and the horse looks very much alive.
Also, there’s some leaked info regarding said horse.
Jon’s Mom,
Bran the Builder is said to have also built Storm’s End 🙂
http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Brandon_Stark_(Builder)
Absolutey. We need Hodor, Summer, and Karsi to appear again somewhere. It would be heart wrenching.
Gravemaster,
You just made me think of Rory Mccann (Sandor) 🙂
He had the scripts, he is Scottish and he is in his 40s.
Uncle Benjen !
I got so attached to this character for some reason, really happy to have him back for S7.
Conceivably, the leaker could have been a woman. “Wee” is also widely used throughout the North of England, as is “bairn” and occasionally “laird”, all classic Scots words. Border areas are especially fluid. I just re-read three versions of the leak and comments, but they had passed through so many hands that it’s hard to discern who wrote what. I did not find sufficient verbal giveaways to definitively pinpoint the nationality of the leaker. However, there are a few Britishisms and British spellings (“likely” instead of “probably”, “realise”, “tumour”, “legitmise”, “sparring” rather than “practicing”) that indicate the leaker or a commentator is from the UK, which of course includes Northern Ireland.
Interesting thought I had about Benjen coming back. Ned surely told him about Jon’s true parentage. And if he did, then is that how Jon can find out about Rhaegar and Lyanna without dues ex Howland or Bran.
You may be right about the sites constructed by Bran the Builder.
The sites throughout Westeros and Essos that are described in The World of Ice and Fire as oily black stone, fused black stone, or some variant may also be protected.
I believe Harrenhal also has special qualities because the stone was melted by dragonfire.
Lioncourt,
Don’t set yourself up for any rich storytelling this season, you will be heavily disappointed. If the spoilers are anything to go by it’s going to very disappointing if you’re a long time reader of GOT. If you’re not a book reader, then no worries – enjoy!
We don’t know for sure that Ned ever told Benjen – or anyone – anything about who Jon truly is. Howland Reed knows by virtue of being at the Tower of Joy (there was nothing Ned could do there) and Bran saw a vision of the events there; aside from those two, we do not know for certain if anyone knows that Jon was Lyanna’s son. My personal theory is that Benjen has an inkling at the very least, but through his own deductions and not because Ned told him anything. I guess if the two of them cross paths in season seven, we will get to see if Benjen does know any of the truth about Jon.
Alba Stark,
In my opinion, if he didn’t trust the truth with Catelyn then he wouldn’t with anybody else. He kept the secret from her for over 16 years with her angry at him about it and treating Jon like garbage. Benjen was a teenage boy when Ned returned to Winterfell with Jon so I don’t think he’d share such an important secret with him.
Benjen to Jon: ” We’ll speak when I return.”
Always wondered if there was something in that.
Alba Stark,
There were some handmaidens at the Tower, so they might know too. One of them might be Wylla (who was mentioned on the show). I think in Ned’s mind, the fewer people who knew about it, the better. We don’t know much about Benjen’s whereabouts or involvement and he was also pretty young when all the events happened. He might suspect something, but I don’t think Ned talked to him about this.
Clob,
It’s not surprising that he didn’t tell Cat to be honest. He’d only known her for a brief time before he left to war and I think her treating Jon kindly would have made people suspicious. Imagine what Cat might have done during the WOT5K if she had known the truth about Jon.
I think Ned felt that the fewer people who knew, the less likely it was that the secret would get out. Ned neither loved nor trusted Catelyn when she came to Winterfell; she was a stranger to him, and he could hardly confess to treason in such circumstances. Later on, I think he worried so much about her anti-Jon feelings that he feared what would happen if she were forced to choose between Jon and anything or anyone else. As for Benjen, he was young during Robert’s Rebellion. Likely Ned felt that he was too young to deal with what had happened. Ultimately, I also think that Ned knew what a great burden this secret was, and didn’t want to pass it to anyone else. After all, if he was ever found out, the likes of Catelyn and Benjen could honestly say that they knew nothing of Ned’s treason.
I don’t believe Ned ever told a soul who Jon truly was. I do think that Benjen figured at least some of it out. Benjen was the only one left at Winterfell with Lyanna, leaving them the closest of the Stark siblings; he knew Lyanna best. I think that if anyone knew Lyanna went willingly, it was Benjen. Perhaps that was behind his decision to join the Night’s Watch. Who knows! But I do think that Benjen ultimately put two and two together and made four.
I think that Benjen knew what an angry young man Jon was, and the source of that anger; if Ned told Benjen (as I said above, I don’t think he did) I don’t think Benjen would ever tell Jon without Ned’s permission, and Ned made it clear in 102 that HE alone would tell Jon, the next time they met. I think Benjen meant that he would explain more about the Watch, and how it works, when they next met. I think he meant to try and calm Jon’s anger as best he could.
True! I had forgotten about the handmaidens!! I agree that one of them could be (and probably was) Wylla. But I am unsure how Jon could meet them – unlike Bran and Howland Reed.
Wylla’s backstory is explored a little more in the books, but I do think she knew Jon was Lyanna’s son and kept the secret Ned took North with him to Winterfell. And I think that she was at the Tower of Joy.
Alba Stark,
There was a closeup of one of the handmaidens and she seemed like she could be the Wylla who Ned mentioned. I think they’ll mostly leave the reveal to Bran. I don’t think we’ll see her on the show (or this season at least), but I thought it was a nice gesture for all the book readers to show her. The ToJ interior scene was just wonderful.
I know Cat mentions in the first book that when she got to Winterfell with Robb, Jon and his wetnurse were already there. I wonder if the wetnurse is our Wylla.
Agree it is likely that the close-up handmaiden in the show is Wylla, and that its possible the wet-nurse Cat mentions in the books is her also. I do think that regardless of whether or not it is, Wylla was probably Jon’s first wet-nurse. I think that, in the books, part of the reason Ned’s supposed paternity of Jon stands up is because there are elements of truth to each of the conflicting stories told about who Jon’s mother is.
Hmmm…I think that the three younger Starks–Ned, Lyanna and Benjen–seemed close, so I’m not sure why everyone thinks that Ned wouldn’t trust Benjen with the true story of their sister’s death. He would never keep that from Benjen, especially since Lyanna and Benjen were so close.
There is, of course, still the question as to why Benjen actually joined the NW in the first place. I know that he’s a third son, but as a Stark, he’d be quite the catch for some Northern daughter. Why join the NW?
And I saw the last scene with he and Jon as an indication that Benjen had some adult subjects to broach with Jon, including possibly his heritage. Since Jon would have taken his vow by then, Benjen could share all of his recollections of his beloved sister with her only son. I hope that it IS Benjen that tells Jon, and not just Bran’s WeirwoodNet observations. Jon needs to hear this from someone who knew well, and loved desperately, both Lyanna and Jon.
I’m a romantic. ?
Leaks
LEAKS
Kathy,
I am a crazy book reader fan and I really enjoy the show, the only thing you have to do is separate them, it worked for me
Ashara D,
If the truth about Jon’s parentage came out, Ned would be labeled a traitor and executed together with Jon. Naturally, the question of whether anyone in the family also knew would come up, as they would be considered accomplices. Therefore, Benjen and Cat could genuinely say they had no idea and not get imprisoned or executed for treason. Ned’s decision to not tell anyone protects Jon, but also his own family. So yeah Ned would have kept this from everyone: “Some secrets are safer kept hidden. Some secrets are too dangerous to share with those you love and trust” – Ned Stark
If I remember correctly, in George’s original outline, Benjen was also supposed to be the LC of the Night’s Watch. So my guess is he wanted Jon to have a mentor while he was training and learning to lead. Later on he probably created Jeor, Qhorin and all of Jon’s other mentors, so a part of Benjen’s role was probably passed on to Jeor.
Alba Stark,
Yes Ned lies (by omission I suppose), but tells the truth at the same time.
“You might not have my name, but you have my blood” is a good example. There’s really no lie in that statement.
This is precisely why I think, in the books, nobody has ever figured out the truth regarding Jon’s parentage – there are elements of truth in each of the conflicting stories going around Westeros; I think that Wylla was Jon’s wet-nurse for a time, that he was named for Jon Arryn, and that Ashara Dayne did have a fling with a Stark (Brandon).
As for the show, you are right – Jon is Ned’s blood, and in the books he does say something similar (to Cat). The best lies always have bits of truth in them, and that is why they are believable. The line you mention – There’s great honor serving in the Night’s Watch. The Starks have manned the Wall for thousands of years. And you are a Stark; you might not have my name, but you have my blood – I think that Ned always considered Jon to be Lyanna’s son but didn’t always consider Rhaegar’s part in it (hence the emphasis on Jon being a Stark). I think he wanted to tell the truth as much as possible, and so he fudged it slightly rather than lying outright.
Regardless of whether it is Benjen or someone else that tells him, Jon is going to be freaked when he finds out the truth. The true issue is not how Jon will react to Lyanna being his mother, but how he will react to Ned not being his father.
If the leaks are true, which we have no reason to suppose they aren’t
ghost of winterfell,
Sadly, I agree 🙁
ghost of winterfell,
I agree too. 🙁 They didn’t even focus much on his resurrection, so I’m not getting my hopes up.
phantomcloud,
Jon died. Do you remember? He died! What Dues ex Machina happened there? What other times was Jon saved at the last minute? Season 1 there isn’t anything, Season 2 they actually got rid of your so called Dues Ex machine in Jon’s fight with half hand. In the books Ghost saves Jon vs Halfhand. So nothing in Season2 either. Season 3 nothing, maybe Bran’s direwolf. Season 4 on the battle on the wall what happened there? What Olly killing Ygritte. I don’t think she would have pulled the arrow – so nothing there. Season 5 – nothing happened at Hardhome to save him he earned to still be alive after hardhome. Then he was killed. yes, Jon has been in enough fights that last second saves are going to happen. But man you are really hating on this show in your responses right now. Why do you continue to watch?
Jon’s Mom,
It’s not enough time.
leaks
ghost of winterfell,
I agree, but at least I think we get to see
Kit is still in Belfast.
https://twitter.com/imhungup/status/810973287585038336
Looks like they are not even getting the Christmas week off lol. This must be the fourth week of filming for this sequence? And Iceland still to come. With all the effort they are putting in, I expect this sequence to trump everything we have seen so far, visually.
ghost of winterfell,
Wow it might be longer than Hardhome them.
Flayed Potatoes,
It should be .
Leaks:
ghost of winterfell,
That’s a lot of screentime for Jon. 😀
Flayed Potatoes,
It’s likely he will end up with the highest screentime third year running. Him and Dany will dominate screentime next season imo. Kit definitely has filmed the most so far.
Any ideas/speculation why Maisie is in Belfast? http://https://www.instagram.com/p/BOM9YqjhgDt/
Hope this link (re Maisie in Belfast) works, as the previous one did not. https://www.instagram.com/p/BOM9YqjhgDt/
keltia,
Either filming pre-Winterfell stuff or scenes at Winterfell that don’t involve Sansa (since Sophie’s finished).
[Leaks discussion]
I have loved following spoilers in the past, but this year’s detail exceeded my curiousity/ruining-the-fun ratio and I’m actively avoiding anything except occasional pictures. Because I don’t want to know exactly what happens. I just want to learn enough to get excited and participate in “what if” convos.
So please fellow fans, don’t forget to mask even casual references to known spoilers :). Much obliged.