Given the major leaks that happened both before and during Season 7 of Game of Thrones and the immense pressure to keep Season 8 under wraps, you could be forgiven for believing that filming multiple endings would be a pragmatic approach — but since Thrones is the most expensive show on television, it’s not a practical one. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays everyone’s favorite golden knight, Jaime Lannister, said as much in an exclusive interview with Marie Claire published today, which casts doubt on a statement made earlier this month by HBO programming president Casey Bloys.
“Do you think that’s true? It seems really stupid to me,” Coster-Waldau told Marie Claire. “I mean if it’s true I don’t believe it … I haven’t read the script, so unless they will show several endings that could be a twist, they’re not going to waste that money.”
“You’re not going to waste $100,000 a day to shoot something you’re not going to use. It’s not going to happen,” he added.
The interview also touched on whether or not Coster-Waldau believes the viral theory that the army of the dead formed the Stark sigil when marching past the wall in the Season 7 finale (he doesn’t), the co-star he has the most fun working with (Gwendoline Christie, as if we couldn’t guess) and what would be the most poetic way for Jaime to die (old age and farts, believe it or not).
The full interview is available here.
BRODOR
He’s correct. I can imagine there being multiple endings in script form, but not actual filming.
I have never read an interview with NCW past like season 3 where the reviewer did not ask him how he would die. I hope Jaime lives after all that. 🙂
Bloys loves talking out his ass.
Captain Obvious reporting for duty! I’m glad he didn’t even pretend that he wasn’t sure. 😂
Bloys is shook.
I love how NCW has no time for this nonsense (and for dumb viral theories).
Shocker.
They will try to troll us like they have done in the past, but without wasting thousands of dollars.
Sue the Fury,
The Bloyviator?
So his take/response on it is the same as the majority thought here when that was said. Beyond just the cost of it is also needing the actors to commit all that extra, unnecessary time and effort on top of what is already a grueling filming schedule.
Maybe the multiple endings story was a tactic to head off the (inevitable) leaks we will get? Muddying the waters with fake PR or fake leaks can be quite effective when you want people to second guess what will happen.
If that was the plan, NCW clearly didn’t get the memo.
But HBO ceo made a official statement saying they would.
Sir. Jaime needs to watch the things he says before he gets blackballed.
Filming multiple endings is always possible and can be cheap. Depends on the kind of scene they are shooting. Maybe they shoot multiple ending as in: who will sit on the iron throne. That can be a scene about a minute max 2. They can easily shoot multiple scenes. One with Jon, one with Dany, one with Cercei maybe one with Sansa. Etc or maybe a scene where one time a certain character is in the room (alive) and the other he or she is absent (death).
I think it will be a scene like this that will be shot multiple times. Almost like the end scene of lost season 4. They shot 3 scenes. But was cheap to shoot.
They aren’t going to shoot multiple versions of multiple sequences, but they just might shoot alternate versions of the show’s final scene…