Filming/News/Production

More cast members sighted in Belfast & Increased activity at new Season 8 set

Posted on by Luka Nieto
Crew Parking Pink Signs are popping up near Titanic Studios, which can't hold everyone anymore! | Photo: Irish Thrones
The crew is parking near the studios, which can’t hold everyone anymore! | Photo: Irish Thrones

A week into filming season eight, the Game of Thrones cast continues popping up in Belfast, where, incidentally, the mysterious new set being built on the parking lot of Titanic Studios has seen a spike in activity — they are going all in with this one.

Despite the many cast sightings, it appears they are sticking pretty close to the new rule we’ve been hearing about lately: “No selfies allowed.” Still, according to reports, throughout the week a number of Game of Thrones stars have been in Belfast, namely Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, John Bradley, and Emilia Clarke

 

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We also lack photos of the set developments, but reports show production is ramping up at Linen Mill, where a number of sets are held (the ships; Riverrun, which turned into Casterly Rock; Volantis, formerly Harrenhal; and more), and at the massive set in construction next to Titanic Studios. Here it all is, courtesy of Irish Thrones:



Hopefully we’ll have more photos of the new set soon. Despite its public location, the crew may do a better job at hiding it once filming begins within, so there’s a relatively short window of opportunity in which the set will be done but filming won’t have started there yet, and so we may learn what this castle-sized set is supposed to depict at last.

Place your bets, folks.

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Luka Nieto

48 Comments

  6. mau,

    In Riverrun will go Jaime and Bron to reunited with Edmure ..and to discuss his help against the NK..As for Kinvara..i do think that there will be a meeting with Mellisandre and her..May Kinvara to demands Mellisandres sacrifice for the Lightbringer [the nissa nissa Melisandre theory]and she to follows or to Mellisandre to ask her for lay to take the soldiers of the Order of the Fiery Hand along with her to fight in the final battle

  7. mau:
    There are rumors at Free Folk that Kinvara will be back for S8.

    If Mel does come back with Kinvara and an entourage it would be neat to see it including previously seen priestesses. Melanie Liburd from 6×08 (Meereen), Rila Fukushima from 5×03 (Volantis), and maybe the guy that was probably a priest in the scene before the ships were burnt in Meereen. I know Quaithe is a shadowbinder but it would be cool if she shows up again too.

  8. I’m not sure I see the point of the “no selfies” thing, given that we know all of the people mentioned in this article are going to be in the new season; they were alive at the end of the previous one. If they were trying to hide an actor’s surprise return, that would of course be a different story, but it’s hardly a spoiler that Emilia Clarke is going to be in Season 8.

  9. Elizabeth:
    We’ll all be in massive GOT withdrawal by 2018:(

    2018 is no problem …. it’s most likely 2019
    Here is my prediction

    Sunday May 12th 2019

  10. mau,

    the poster who claimed knowledge of this also said that she would be sharing scenes with Carice Van Houten, Tom Hollander and Marc Rissman. If true, Kinvara could be the one to convince the Golden Company to betray Cersei for the Targaryens. But I am sceptical of any claims on freefolk. All these so called leakers so far have been fakes.

  13. Forgive my extreme ignorance, but what is the name of that massive yellow H&W….thing….in the shipyard? Random question I know. I’ve just been calling in Fred.

  14. mau,
    No, the report states that there was activity at Linen Mill, but LM hosts multiple sets. It may be Riverrun, but it doesn’t have to be.

    Pigeon,
    Isn’t that just some sort of crane?

  15. Pigeon,

    I think its called ‘Goliath’ ! There’s another gantry crane nearby called ‘Samson’ or maybe its that one 🙂

    H&W are the initials for Harland and Wolff. The ship building company that made the Titanic in the 1900’s along with many others. I believe these days they are more into doing refits on large ships rather than in building them.

  17. They shoot different scenes at the Riverrun set. Just because they are in the area doesn’t mean that they are shooting a Riverrun scene.

  18. This is my favorite time of the year, reading any and all info about the new season and reading your speculations.
    May these moments last forever.

  19. Black Raven:
    Pigeon,

    I think its called ‘Goliath’ ! There’s another gantry crane nearby called ‘Samson’or maybe its that one 🙂

    H&Ware the initials for Harland and Wolff. The ship building company that made the Titanic in the 1900’s along with many others.I believe these days they are more into doing refits on large ships rather than in building them.

    Gantry/gantry crane, that’s it! Thank you! 🙂 And I love the names. 😄

  20. mau,

    There’s no confirmation of a Riverrun scene yet. Linen Mill has been home to multiple Game of Thrones sets during the show’s run, including Riverrun. During the filming of Season 7, the set that served as Riverrun in Season 6 was repurposed to serve as the interior of Casterly Rock. No one yet knows what it’s being used for this year.

  21. Pigeon: Gantry/gantry crane, that’s it! Thank you! 🙂And I love the names. 😄

    Yep, gantry cranes straddle dry docks and move up and down them on rails. Just googled H&W and says the dry dock in Belfast is largest in the world. Those huge gantry cranes can lift some 850 tons which is pretty impressive also. Height wise, the Statue of Liberty would fit under it – Its just amazing the snippets of information one can find on the web 😛

  23. mau:
    Did I understand well? There will be Riverrun scene in S8?

    I didn’t say that. In fact, the Riverrun set was redressed as Casterly Rock for season seven, so if Riverrun appears again they’ll have to change it back. I merely pointed out that the crew has been seen at Linen Mill, where the Casterly Rock set (formerly Riverrun) is located, along with many others, including the ships. There’s no way to know in which set they’re filming.

  25. The only interesting return this year could be Edmure or Kinvara. Everyone else will be back. We already know that.

  26. mau:
    The only interesting return this year could be Edmure or Kinvara. Everyone else will be back. We already know that.

    And of those two, I’d said Kinvara would be the more interesting.

  27. mau:
    The only interesting return this year could be Edmure or Kinvara. Everyone else will be back. We already know that.

    I imagine actors of some unlikely returns popping up around filming could cause some interest and spark speculation. Ohh, such as for characters like Jaqen, Daario, Illyrio, Quaithe… Syrio. With the NK roaming around there’s always the possibility of dead characters returning as well. 😛

  29. Clob: I imagine actors of some unlikely returns popping up around filming could cause some interest and spark speculation.Ohh, such as for characters like Jaqen, Daario, Illyrio, Quaithe… Syrio.With the NK roaming around there’s always the possibility of dead characters returning as well.

    I don’t think I’d enjoy seeing a wight Hodor….

  31. Clob: I imagine actors of some unlikely returns popping up around filming could cause some interest and spark speculation.Ohh, such as for characters like Jaqen, Daario, Illyrio, Quaithe… Syrio.With the NK roaming around there’s always the possibility of dead characters returning as well.😛

    OMG. You just reminded me of how much I want to see Syrio Forel again!
    My impulse is to say “obviously that won’t happen with only six episodes left”
    And yet…
    How much invaluable time can Cersei and NK really take up?

  33. mau:
    ramses,

    Syrio is dead.

    Spoilsport 😛
    Of course, Syrio’s saying to the god of death was “not today.” The NK is about the closest thing there is to the god of death. I can see some spoof of the NK animating Syrio to which he says “not today” and stabs himself with a dragonglass shard. 🙂

  34. Pigeon: Gantry/gantry crane, that’s it! Thank you! 🙂And I love the names. 😄

    That is Samson, it’s at the sea end of the dock (though they can move up the entire length) Goliath is always the one closest to the land end of the dock.
    There is footage of Samson taking out a regular sized crane along the dock when they weren’t lined up properly….

  35. mau:
    ramses,

    Syrio is dead.

    Dream killer

    Clob: Spoilsport 😛
    Of course, Syrio’s saying to the god of death was “not today.”The NK is about the closest thing there is to the god of death.I can see some spoof of the NK animating Syrio to which he says “not today” and stabs himself with a dragonglass shard. 🙂

    Yes!!!!!

  36. “Place your bets, folks,”
    ————————
    Okay, here goes. My bet is that the set’s being built for NK & WW vs. Cersei & KL, with Cersei using the wildfire catapult plan she had in S2.

    In particular…
    Tinfoil Speculation: (From photographs, and based in part on S2e5 dialogue, reproduced below.)

    If there’s a catapult, and fires scorching the walls or interior of a large multi-story structure, that brings to mind Cersei’s plan to launch wildfire in catapults from the KL city walls as described by Lancel and by Pyromancer Hallyne in S2e5 (“The jars are put in catapults and flung at the enemy”): a “shit idea” for the reasons explained by Bronn, e.g., the soldiers “trying to defend the city end up burning it down.”

    Even if Quburn hasn’t found any more caches of the wildfire the Mad King had stashed all over the city, now that Cersei’s back in power it’s likely she’s commanded the Alchemists Guild pyromancers to work “tirelessly day and night” making wildfire, just like she did in S2 before Tyrion commandeered her stockpiles for his Blackwater Bay Light Show.

    (*Makes sure tinfoil hat is securely over head*)

    I’m guessing the structure(s) being built outside the Belfast studio are for big battle scenes in which the Army of the Dead approaches the KL city walls, and an (over)confident Cersei implements the wildfire catapult plan she was going to use against Stannis’s invading army in S2, and tries to use it against the invading undead army in S8.
    From Jon’s show-and-tell presentation in S7e7 [RIP Captured Wight 😢], Cersei knows that fire can destroy undead soldiers. Jaime’s no longer around to talk sense into her or provide a battlefield assesment. If Bronn’s not there to warn her – or she ignores warnings from Bronn or Qyburn – that catapulting wildfire pots is a “sh*t idea” – then a flame-scorched specially-built set may not involve dragon fire at all, as some have suggested.
    Instead, it could very well be for a massive scene or scenes in which Bronn’s prediction comes true, and “the poor c*nts trying to defend the city end up burning it down.”

    I’ve reproduced dialogue from two scenes in S2e5 below.
    I excerpted Lancel’s descriptions from the first scene, and excised Tyrion’s end of the conversation because it consisted of threats to expose Lancel’s trysts with Cersei to insure Lancel was being truthful.
    I included the entire second scene verbatim, in part because I couldn’t bear to delete any of the dialogue of Roy Dotrice (Pyromancer Hallyne).

    S2e5 – First of two scenes:
    (Lancel, under duress, tells Tyrion that Cersei plans to defend the city from Stannis by launching wildfire.)

    Lancel: She’s making wildfire.
    ***
    The Alchemists Guild is being commissioned.
    ***
    They have thousands of pots already stored in their vaults. They are planning to launch them from the city walls into Stannis’s ships and armies.
    ***
    I heard her talking with the Pyromancer. And the other night after I left her, she went to meet him. I swear to you.
    ___________________________
    S2e5 – Second of two scenes
    (Tyrion, Bronn and Pyromancer Wisdom Hallyne of the Alchemists Guild discuss Cersei’s plan to launch wildfire from catapults: a “sh*t idea”)

    Tyrion: I remember reading an old sailor’s proverb: “Piss on wildfire and your cock burns off.”

    Hallyne: Oh, I have not conducted this experiment. It could well be true. The substance burns so hot, it melts wood, stone, even steel, and, of course… flesh! The substance burns so hot, it melts flesh like tallow. After the dragons died, wildfire was the key to the Targaryen power.

    Tyrion: My companion takes issue.

    Bronn: If I could tell you how many crazy old men I’ve seen pushing carts around army camps making grand claims about jars full of pig sh*t…No offense meant.

    Hallyne (offended): Our order does not deal in pig sh*t! The substance is fire given form. And we have been perfecting it since the days of Maegor.

    Tyrion: To do what?

    Hallyne: The jars are put in catapults and flung at the enemy.

    Tyrion: How much do you have?

    Bronn: If you could get real soldiers to man the catapults, then maybe you’d hit your target one time in 10, but all the real soldiers are in the Riverlands with your father.

    Hallyne: My Lord, this man is insulting.

    Bronn: I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a battle, old man, but things can get a bit messy. ‘Cause when we’re flinging things at Stannis, he’s flinging them right back at us. Men die, men sh*t themselves, men run, which means pots falling, which means fire inside the walls, which means the poor c**ts trying to defend the city end up burning it down.

    Tyrion: My friend remains unconvinced.

    Hallyne: He would not dare insult my order whilst Aerys Targaryen lived.

    Bronn: Well, he’s not living anymore. And all his pots of wildfire didn’t help him, did they? Men win wars, not magic tricks.

    Hallyne (to Tyrion): We have been working tirelessly day and night ever since your royal sister commanded us to do so. Our present count stands at 7,811, enough to burn Stannis Baratheon’s fleet and armies both.

    Bronn: This is a sh*t idea.

    Tyrion, I’m afraid I have to concur with my advisor, wisdom Hallyne. The contents of this room could lay King’s Landing low. You won’t be making wildfire for my sister any longer. You’ll be making it for me.

  37. Yay! We’re into filming season! I don’t want too many spoilers but I want to know it’s happening.

    Does not anybody else find it funny that the maaashooovhe huuuuge new castle set is actually dwarfed by the actually huge H&W crane thingy in the background?

  38. mau:
    The only interesting return this year could be Edmure or Kinvara. Everyone else will be back. We already know that.

    I know you meant living characters but the return scene I want most is one of Ned through dream sequence or possibly through some supernatural means (Bran-vision?). Of course they’d take enormous pains to keep a scene like that secret. Some of the most powerful endings circle back in some way to the beginning. In many ways Ned still embodies the heart of the show even though he’s been gone so long. His shadow overhangs everything, especially when it comes to the emotional lives of the Stark children. They’re all measuring themselves against their father’s example in some way. I have no idea what the context for such a scene would be but I just know it would cathartic as hell to have some brief moment with Ned at the end. Even if it’s just hearing his voice.

  41. talvikorppi:

    Does not anybody else find it funny that the maaashooovhe huuuuge new castle set is actually dwarfed by the actually huge H&W crane thingy in the background?

    Yeah, its bloody huge 🙂 It could lift that castle set with impunity if it were built onto a platform! That along with the Titanic studios also 😀

  44. mau,

    Thank god, it bothered me so bad that Arya just left Edmure locked up at the Twins. You think she would of made sure they didn’t have any prisoners.

  45. mau: We also lack photos of the set developments, but reports show production is ramping up at Linen Mill, where a number of sets are held (the ships; Riverrun, which turned into Casterly Rock; Volantis, formerly Harrenhal; and more), and at the massive set in

    Hi Mau, even though this is just speculation, any chance you could use spoiler code? Just I’m trying to remain pretty much unspoiled and had assumed this article would be fine. I know this is only minor speculation and I’m not too bothered about it just concerned others may post bigger stuff if left unchecked.

    I was actually pretty glad we had got to 3 weeks of filming and nothing spoilery had come out other than the big set being built.

  46. firstone: 2018 is no problem …. it’s most likely 2019
    Here is my prediction

    But that makes no sense, we know they are filming longer (until June 2018) and according to reliable sources the final season will air in either the 2nd half of 2018 or early 2019, so there is no way they wait that long in my opinion. I’m guessing we are looking at either October or November 2018 so the show is finished before the Christmas period.

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