The crew of Game of Thrones has made impressive progress on the set created out at Wolf Hill Quarry in Northern Ireland. We first heard that the quarry was being used as a snowy season 7 location back in early November, and by mid-month we received exclusive photos confirming the new site. Today, phantom pilot uploaded a new video on YouTube, showing drone footage of the shooting location as it currently looks, and as you can see, the quarry is an icy and active set.
Thanks to WotW reader Sebaciel for bringing the video to our attention!
We’ve heard major spoilers about the scenes being filmed at the quarry, but with such an isolated site, located off a gated road, it’s difficult for anyone to get close to confirm anything. The spoilers indicated that filming is happening at the moment, and the video shows multiple people scurrying around the quarry. The previous photos showed more clearly that the site resembles an iced-over lake with a small raised bit of land in the middle- not quite an island, but almost.
Enjoy the video, and see for yourselves how the location has taken shape!
Green screen supposed to backfill the giant icy mountain palace of the Night King I’m guessing. Main focal point is the rock formation center with the path leading up to it. I can’t really tell what is going on with the left side. Looks like another rock formation there so could be part of the same scene or used for different area in the Land of Always Winter. It appears to be a huge set and cold as hell with all the fake snow.
What are those symbols in the snow on the ground?
So cool people are so dedicated to bringing everyone hints to the new season.
I can’t help but wonder why they have to wait to until Jan/Feb in Iceland to film though, if they seem to be having a big snowy scene in NI quarry. Perhaps they need lot’s of actual Ice.
Wow such a big snow field!
Starkgaryen,
The dark grey ones I believe is a stone path that leads to the center of the set. There is another group of those dark grey stones in the upper left corner in a pile. The smaller ones that are light grey, I believe are just for texture and depth for filming across a large distance. These are my guesses maybe someone can enlighten me as well since I have no idea.
It’s interesting that the green screen ha been installed on both sides of “the wall”. Maybe “the wall” will indeed be the Wall and someone will be climbing over the Wall retreating in haste or something? Anyway, it just looks like they will be using the green screen on both sides of the wall, though the landscape has been prepared for filming only on one of them. Maybe, it will be the area right outside the Wall?
Mel,
I think it’s a combination of wanting Iceland’s natural scenery and the fact that January/February will give them more daylight hours to work with. They’re looking at about four hours per day if they head over there during the second half of December.
The reasoning behind Deep Lake on the Viewer’s Guide “Map” is finally revealed!! LOL
Any news on
being in the area?
Sebaciel confirmed as the “Get em, Beany” leaker 😛
Just kidding.
Thank you so much for the footage. That must have been tough to film.
Littlefinger’s Mockingbird Sigil, perhaps what the marking in the snow is? Just a thought.
Am I the only one who thinks these videos are being leaked from GoT’s own people to intentionally add to the hype? This is a video taken from a helicopter. I can’t imagine the average-Belfast-Joe having a helicopter in their backyard, ready to take off and simply fly over to the GoT set to record it. 😛
Jess,
It’s a drone. Lots of people have drones. You can buy one for $35.
Ah, I just read the bit about the ‘drone’. LOL, now that makes sense.
look the ppl down there… the set is huge
Is it me or we’ve just got two new gems of soundtrack?
2:44 New “The Kingsroad”
4:13 New “The Rains of Castamere”
LEAKS SPOILER
Dutch Maester,
Very good video footage. Was a pity the drone didn’t fly lower down to get closer up details of the set. I guess there’s always a risk doing things like this? Like it being brought down with a shotgun!
Who is the female singing Rains of Castamere, that starts at 5:09? It is mesmerizing. I couldn’t turn it off.
Anyway, I hope all of you remember to point out these scenes when they appear in the actual show, so we can see how they are actually used.
Are there any actors in Belfast right now? We haven’t had a sighting there for quite some time.
Holy mackerel! That set is huge, and I feel like i can imagine the scene! If i knew how to hide leak info i would be giving my take to everyone. Instead i’ll just point out that the actual shape of the set looks like a dire wolf with dragon wings! And with that i shall do my best littlefinger grin and step backwards to the back of the room.
OT:
http://www.thewrap.com/game-of-thrones-star-sophie-turner-on-season-7-everyone-is-coming-together-video/
Another cringeworthy Sophie Turner interview:
“Jon was being a little wimp and so Sansa was like, let me just do all the dirty work”.
I like Sansa a lot, but Sophie makes this hard lol.
ghost of winterfell,
Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington were not seen leaving Belfast yet, they could still be there ! Emilia was shopping with her brother a few days ago and Kit was with Rose on a stroll !
Why do you even listen to her interviews? She says nothing useful anyway, just the same stuff before each season – Sansa is awesome and the best blah blah blah. Waste of time. We have already been spoiled for the North storyline, so we don’t even need any spoilery hints from her.
I am over this character and her badly written plot tbh. I am only watching the North story next season to see what they do with Arya and Bran.
SerNoName,
I agree. I think she served her purpose, if they’re going to kill another Stark, I do think it would be her. She doesn’t really have that much going for her. I mean Arya’s a highly skilled faceless assassin, Bran is a freaking three eyed raven and Jon is ..
Sansa’s spiel right now is the whole thing with Littlefinger. They have to carry that out even though it’s doesn’t seem as interesting to me anymore. I’m just curious to see what Cersei and Qyburn are up to !
SerNoName,
Scratch that, Sansa and Arya are getting married. Now that’s a twist, haha !
https://instagram.com/p/BNh_1rChRBP/
ghost of winterfell,
I’m pretty sure Sophie can’t remember half the characters in the show let alone understand plot lol.Thank God we know what’s gonna happen.
Irina Stark,
I must say I Don’tnecessarily agree with you, if Sansa is alive it’s because she is still important to the plot, I have to say I have no freaking idea why she is important haha but she is, perhaps she will have a role in the reconstruction of WF and The North (the snow castle chapter/scene), mayhaps she’ll be the queen consort of the 7 Kingdoms once the war is over (WTF?), I Don’t really know, but as I sais before, if she is alive until season 8 (and if the LEAKS are legit, she will be) it means she is a key character wether you like it or not, if she wan’t they would have killed years (seaons) ago, the’ve showned they Don’t have any problems killing main characters hahah.
oh god, I jut saw the interwiev:
http://www.thewrap.com/game-of-thrones-star-sophie-turner-on-season-7-everyone-is-coming-together-video/
1. DAMMM HE SO HOT AS HEELL SHE COULD MELT THE NIGHT KING HERELSELF
2. she ships Daenerys + Sansa = SANSALEESI IS REAL BITCHES
2. she is a total Sansa crazy fan
*I’m a huge Sansa fan but I’m not a crazy one, I like her character and her evolution (books and show) but I recognise her (many) mistakes and I Don’t think she is the best character ever, I just really like her.
As of yesterday Kit Harington was there.
I think it’s best not to pay any attention to Sophie’s interviews. Every year she spews crap or trolls, even if it’s just jokes. She seems to be the only cast member who puts down other characters to prop up hers. Her current target is Jon because their arcs are unfortunately intertwined (thank God they’re separating early in s7). She’s adamant on exaggerating Sansa’s importance and making stuff up about her to put her in the best light possible. She sounds jealous. No doubt she wishes she had Emilia’s role. Show Sansa is like a black hole, every character who gets in her space (but shouldn’t be as per the books) gets bad plot treatment.
LF is at the core of Sansa’s arc. If he gets killed, what else is there for her?
SerNoName,
Irina Stark,
I do like Sansa and interested to see what happens with her, even though I agree the writing has been quite inconsistent the last couple seasons for her, Sansa the player or the politician has not really been convincing. However , I have always thought that she will survive the series itself.
Besides, leaks:
Much as I would love for Jon to end as KitN, I feel it’s more likely that he either ends up as the king of all Westeros or he might die (sincerely hope not!!).
Jenny,
Lol yeah, I am so glad that
Jdtargstark,
Okay, I guess the others involved would be there as well.
ghost of winterfell,
I know she’s joking, but this makes her sound so petty and jealous.
ghost of winterfell,
Alvaricomg,
She was great and I was loving every minute of it until she said Jon was a wimp in BotB and she had to do “the dirty work”. He was literally drenched in blood and mud killing tens of people and she was nice and clean on her high horse, like are you kidding me ? He did ALL of the dirty work, like for real.
I love Sophie and I know she rarely has a filter when she talks so I shouldn’t get so pent up about her saying dumb things sometimes but still ..
sebaciel,
People are saying she’d rebuild Winterfell but I think that should be Bran’s job. He knows every stone and nail and nook in that keep back from his climbing days, Winterfell is described in detail for the first time from his perspective and he could restore it to it’s former glory mirroring Bran the Builder. He is more connected to that place than any other Stark. Arya, Sansa and Jon have been away from the North the entire series, Bran stayed there for almost two seasons, and he ruled for a while in Robb’s stead so he has more experience than either of them. I vote for Bran !
If the leaks are true and
Irina Stark,
Sophie is even denying and twisting facts, that’s how sad she’s become in her attempts to overcompensate for her character’s sucky storyline. Her inability to promote her character without putting down others (especially fan favourites) as well as her insistence on portraying Sansa as something she’s not (this flawless goddess) is not going to win her any fans. She’s being counterproductive, even if she’s mostly joking. She needs to learn how to filter through her thoughts.
Flayed Potatoes,
English is my second language, so please forgive my potential errors.
I’m afraid I don’t understand what you are saying.
You’ve claimed Sansa is D&D’s golden child, but before that you said Sophie is probably jealous because she has another crap story line while the other fan favorite characters are getting to do some crazy and exciting stuff.
If she is their golden child then they should’ve give her a good story line and a satisfying character development, but they removed her whole Vale story line and pushed her in another where she returned to be a victim to another psychopath… so instead of maturing and learning from Littlefinger she got raped and tortured and instead of becoming an astute politician she has became lady vengeance who can not even trust her own brother and after what she has been through she is still being manipulated by Littefinger.
So in my opinion she is far from the golden child… they’ve ruined her character.
***
And unlike some others here I don’t think Sansa’s existence in the story is dependent on Littlefinger’s.
Littlefinger is the main villain of the non magical part of the story and George have decided to make him Sansa’s mentor. I think everyone has already predicted that eventually, she will be his undoing.
but expecting her story to be finished after him is like expecting Arya’s story be finished after departing from Faceless Men.
Bloodraven, Faceless Men, Littlefinger… they are all there to help the Stark kids develop their abilities. but at the end the kids have to leave their mentors behind and continue on their own, just like what Bran and Arya did last season. and I’m confident that Sansa is going to do the same thing in the future.
And I believe you don’t need to be a wizard, a dragon queen, a warrior or an assassin to survive this series.
And if you are wondering what role Sansa could play in the final war, I can give you an example from the story itself:
Battle of the Blackwater.
George gave us three POVs to this battle: Davos, Tyrion and Sansa.
While Davos and Tyrion were fighting, Sansa was in the Red Keep with drunk Cersei trying to frighten her and a bunch of scared woman and children. At the end when Cersei completely lost her shit and left it was Sansa who tried to soothe them although she was a scared 12 years old child herself.
So I think she has a role to play but it will be different from the others.
***
I’m Sorry if it was too long!
Those two titles are completely different. It’s not even clear if he has both of them at present. Even if he did, losing one does not inherently mean losing the other.
Flayed Potatoes,
Bran is ahead of Sansa in the line of succession, but I expect, on the show, he will give up his title because he already has the burden of being the 3 eyed raven who has to help in saving the world. And secondly, given that he may not be able to produce heirs in the future, it might influence his decision as well. Whatever reason they give, it will be Sansa who will be involved in the ruling aspect in the North.
And I do believe it will be the same in the books. D&D have repeatedly said they will reach the same ending as the books and I believe they will stick to it. I expect Sansa to go north with the Vale army in the books as well. Besides, from what we have read so far, I think other than Jon, Sansa is the one who thinks about and misses Winterfell the most. I can definitely see her surviving and help rebuilding the north in the books as well. I also find it hard to guess how Bran’s story will end if he survives to the end. Would he be interested in being the Lord of Winterfell and ruling? I don’t know.
Winter’s Child,
I agree with your points about Sansa leaving her mentor behind, like Arya and Bran, and also about her role in the final war being comparable to her role in the Blackwater battle.
I have been watching Sophie’s interviews for a few years now. She was hoping Sansa would come into her own last year. She was excited about that..and I think she has been hoping this for years. However, her character’s life is more typical for a young girl who is highborn in her position. I wonder if there were more girls who had Arya’s combative skills or Danys dragons in the middle ages? I don’t think so.I get the feeling that the other women on this show, (Brienne, Yara, Meera for example) might not be the norm either. So perhaps this is what is coming through in her interview. She wants to be powerful and a real player. Do i think she has a horrible story this year? How do I know. I have to waTch next year to find out.And to be honest, I don’t hate her. I have gotten frustrated with her, but I felt that way about many others. Sure she annoys me at times, but so do Dany and Arya. Most if these people are grey. And they are far from perfect. And they struggle within themselves. That is what makes us human.
Jeez the Sansa-hate is strong in these ones.
Sophie is doing what she always does- playing with the press and laughing her ass off at the fuss it creates- this forum being a prime example. The childish comments from some folks here are kinda unnecessary.
So, Can we get back on topic please- the wintry set?
This look fantastic and is clearly serving as several locations. Can’t wait to see how this looks on screen.
Black Raven,
I read somewhere the producers were planning to use trained eagles to bring down these drones. Not sure how legit that was, but even if it’s not, the drone would be in breach of aviation rules if it got too close.
Winter’s Child,
The thing is the showrunners think they’ve given her a good storyline. They moved her from the Vale to Winterfell precisely because they wanted to give a character they’ve named as a favorite more to do. They didn’t expect her Winterfell storyline would be so badly received. Listening to the writers’ explanation, they thought the idea was great. Then they shoved her into Jon’s storyline, where she had no business being in for starters. They don’t think they’re ruining her at all, but I agree with you that they’ve ruined her. The intent isn’t there because they’ve said she is one of their favorites, but the execution is sloppy.
ghost of winterfell,
leak
How can he be certain he can’t have heirs? He can just rule until he dies and Sansa and Arya’s kids can inherit if he doesn’t have children. Dany thinks she can’t have heirs either, but I don’t see nearly as many fans wondering how that conquest of hers is going to work long term and what she’ll do about heirs. At least Bran knows he has family left so power can be peacefully transferred.
I think Bran has parallels to Brandon the Builder, so I’d like to have him rebuild Winterfell and the Wall using the magic he learned from the children of the forest via greenseeing. That would be the dream.
General talk about Bran (I need to get this off my chest lol):
Honestly, I personally care a lot about the portrayal and representation of disabled characters so I’m extra vigilant because GoT fandom usually likes to pretend he doesn’t exist so their able-bodied favorite characters can take over what’s his.
Sophie at it again. 😀
As they said with Kit and Miguel in the commentary, they have no idea plot, future of her character. The way they talk about them is realy weird from all parties. If their plan was to show distrust between Jon and Sansa, mistake on her part for not properly portraying it. Take her interview with a grain of salt.
Irina Stark,
Unless the’re filming their scene for so long and I doubt it, they’re likely in London or elsewhere.
That goes for both of them, Since when Jon is so irrational as commander(in the books quite smart, talented with the strategy), only a good soldier as they described him in Inside of the Episode 9. Ramsay was made into some sort of a genius which he ain’t. He’s the more reckles but for the plot purposes they had to behave the way they does. They wanted to do good and in parts it was a good. Their reunion was warm and fuzzy, good dialog and it was really god. But more it lead to the end of the season, more weird their storyline became as both behaved in such a strange way. Idea was good but execution sucks.
Yeah, more of the same. Every Sophie interview in recent memory has pretty much been some variation of Sansa’s ship game with Shae:
Sophie: “You’re not supposed to just blurt out the right answer. You’ve got to invent a story about where Sansa’s going, what she’s doing, and why.”
Audience: “Why should we make up a story when we know the truth?”
Sophie: “Because the truth is either terrible or boring.”
Flayed Potatoes,
Have you listened to the BotB DVD commentary yet? I’m remembering the exchange now between Sophie and Kit during the establishing shots before the battle. He talks about how much he enjoyed filming Jon riding up to the front of the battle line because he’s always wanted to portray a Braveheart moment like that, and Sophie agrees and says she keeps wanting to have moments like Emilia’s where she’s riding on a dragon and listing all of her titles. And Kit just deadpans, “You won’t.” It’s fun listening to them take the piss out of each other, but still…where is the lie?
Flayed Potatoes,
OK, the reason I said Bran might not end up ruling has nothing to do with his disability, but rather I have never felt that he had any interest in ruling, in books or show, That’s it. Even when he was left as the Lord after Robb went off to war, it did not look it was something he enjoyed doing.
Leaks:
I was only basing it on my reading of the characters. I have no problem if Bran ends up ruling Winterfell.
Bran wondering about his capability to produce heirs might happen, it is a valid question right? And if it does, it is up to the show writers to tackle it in a fitting manner. Yeah, it doesn’t mean that he should not be ruling because of it, if he chooses to. I am just not sure his arc is headed towards ruling. (I don’t think it’s clear if he can produce heirs or not, I just thought they might bring it up in the future, that’s all.)
And there are fans who wonder what are Dany’s plans of succession, even though nobody questions her right to rule because of it, just like I don’t question his RIGHT to rule BECAUSE of it. There have been so many discussions about the possibility of Dany giving birth!
Flayed Potatoes,
I don’t think they shoved Sansa in Jon’s storyline where she had no business being. I think instead, they fast forwarded what could happen in her future story in the books. I believe in books LF plan is to give her back Winterfell. At the same time, before Jon is murdered, he planned on taking back Winterfell. I think it might be possible that in the future books, their separate stories might come together in some way. In books, they miss Winterfell the most. It might not seem obvious, but it is there. In my opinion, they are rushing toward the end of the series, since there are only 13 episodes left. Unfortunately when they rush, we might not understand the purpose of some of the story lines at the time. Just my opinion.
elybe,
I didn’t listen to that one yet in its entirety. I listened to the Dany parts and the one about the horses because I was curious to see what they had to say about a storyline they weren’t involved with. They sounded so confused lol. Miguel is a joy to listen to btw.
I listened to episode 10 though, and I wish we had got more information. They should bring more of their behind the scenes people to do commentary on the show. I feel like they’d have a lot of fun facts to share about the making of the episode.
ghost of winterfell,
Yeah I know you don’t feel that way. Don’t worry. I just notice this in the fandom.
I feel like several characters will end up ruling over things even though they don’t enjoy it. Actually, those who don’t enjoy power might be more suitable for the role because they’ll care more for the welfare of others than their own personal goals.
Asoiaf fan,
They will meet at Winterfell. It’s clear in the books she’ll be with the Vale, but I think she will only meet Jon after Winterfell is retaken and Jon will be doing his thing with the Wildlings and what’s left of the Northern lords (which is what happened in season 6), while she’s doing her own thing in the Vale. They’ll be separate the whole time, so that’s why I was saying they shoved her into his storyline when she should have probably had a separate one. The surprise Vale army would make much more sense because Jon and Sansa wouldn’t reunite until after the confrontation with the Boltons. That’s what I think. They’ve been kept separate for a reason and any potential Jon/Sansa conflict would be much more believable and understandable in the books because LF didn’t sell her to Ramsay (so she has no reason to be angry with him), Robb’s will disinherits her, and she hasn’t had time to bond with Jon like she did on the show.
For the record, I think Stannis will lose and die in the books as well and Jon will be roped into fighting the Boltons, especially since Jon openly sided with Stannis and didn’t seem to have had a contingency plan should Stannis lose.
They have said that the main characters (Jon, Dany, Tyrion, Arya and Bran) will have the same endings. And so far as we know the show has not strayed from their book plots. Sansa’s story on the other hand has changed so much and they replaced a supporting character like Jeyne Poole with her!
How in the world is the Vale army going North when Sansa has just started a new storyline in TWoW where she is organizing tourneys and plotting to marry Harry the heir. Meanwhile winter has come and Stannis is having a hard time getting his army to WF. And you expect the Vale army to somehow reach the North through that blizzard?
And I don’t know why everyone is discounting Arya even if they ignore Bran because he is crippled. She was the one who learned from Ned on how to interact with the Stark bannerman and soldiers, she knows more about the North, Winterfell and it’s occupants than Sansa ever did. She named her wolf Nymeria after a Queen, Ned prophesied that she would marry a king and she has more of the North in her than Sansa. Apart from Jon, Arya is the one who misses WF the most. She hides Needle because it reminds her of home.
I predict that Sansa will never go North. That’s never been her story. Her story is LF and the Hound and all that will probably be resolved in the Vale or the Riverlands.
Flayed Potatoes,
I think stannis will die too and shireen will be sacrifice d.
Geralt of Rivia,
So we now know Kit is still in NI at Wolf Hill Quarry and Emilia most definitely is still there as well, if she returned to London someone would have spotted her, it’s impossible for her to travel without being seen at this point. Someone saw her at a mall in Belfast 3 or 4 days ago. Which means they spent a LOT of time filming … This past week and the previous week, it was just the two of them there. That’s a LONG time to have just two character filming. Probably indoor scenes. I’m excited !!
ghost of winterfell,
I think she’ll survive as well and she’ll be the one to bear the next Stark generation of heirs.
I think the criticism of her is rather harsh, people are forgetting how young she really is. She is only 20 years old and has been in GOT since she was what 16? That’s a young age to handle all that fame and recognition.
SerNoName
Sansa is one of the main characters.
You have both the books and the show to confirm this… that old outline is not a good source.
And although I don’t like the way they’ve changed her story, I think they did it because they couldn’t simplify it like Arya’s or Bran’s( As you mentioned there is going to be a big tourney in the Vale and a lot of new characters will be there) so they decided to remove it completely.
Kathy,
I don’t see anything particularly harsh being said here. Sophie’s not a child in need of protecting, she’s a 20-year-old adult who probably couldn’t care less what people write about her interviews online. Pointing out that she has a habit of BS-ing in them (which she unabashedly does) is not a big deal. It seems to me that some of her fans are overprotective to the point of being completely unable to tolerate anything short of unconditional acceptance of every word that comes out of her mouth. Anything critical is perceived as over-the-top hatred or victimization. And here’s a twist – I actually like Sophie most of the time. She seems like she’d be a lot of fun to hang out with. Believe me, if Maisie or Kit said crap like this in interviews, I’d voice my desire to know what they were smoking, too.
Éirinn go Brách? 😉
Making the 8,
Yes, that would be a nice one – like the Arabian graffiti in Homeland… 😉
Looks a lot better from inside 😉