The Dragonpit will return in season eight and we may see more of it than last time. Filming in Santiponce, Seville will commence before the end of April, so production is already underway to make the Roman amphitheater of Itálica look like the Dragonpit of King’s Landing. Below, we bring you a first glimpse at how that work is going!
Last Sunday, Dani Llanos visited Itálica’s ruins in Santiponce and, as you can see, the crew was already on site, with the amphitheater partially off-limits during construction:
Additionally, va stark shows the pit in the center of the arena is already being covered:
The pit, once used to hoist animals to the arena, wouldn’t really belong in a structure built to keep dragons, instead of to entertain the people with blood games. But that’s not the only reason for hiding it: just as in season seven, as you can see in the screen capture at the top of the article, a platform is being built over the animal pit.
In “The Dragon and the Wolf,” Cersei used this dais for her summit with her many enemies. Is it being rebuilt just so the Dragonpit looks just like it did last time we saw it? Or will this central stage be put to use again? If that’s the case, will it be for a similar purpose—another parley? Or a more bloody affair, like a duel or trial by combat?
I’m really not that hyped about this filming, I hope it’s not another parlay but can’t really see what else it could be and given how few characters there are in Kings Landing right now it has to be a scene in the latter episodes.
I saw that picture of the ‘pit filling’ yesterday and noticed they’re constructing it differently than last time. I searched for a good picture for comparison but couldn’t find one. I’m not suggesting it means anything necessarily. They could have just decided on a cheaper, faster, easier, or more sturdy method for it after the first build. *shrug*
Hmmm…I really really really want a trial of seven. I don’t know who v who but something bloody better happen and the show hasn’t done a trial by seven!
Rerun of last year’s parlay, but this time the Night King will get to put his two cents in. I don’t think he’ll care whether Cersei’s pregnant though.
Could it be where Jon will be crowned? 🙂
Clob,
They’re taking less time in building it, that’s for sure.
Nvm, I just read the last article abut the dragon pit where this theory got sorta shut down lol
Clob,
Me too (have been scouring social media for updates on how things are progressing at Santiponce as how the central pit is prepped could be key).
And you’re right.. that’s a flimsier scaffolding rig they’re putting down as opposed to the steel girders from before.
So I’m also wondering whether this is because they won’t need such a stable, load bearing platform this time around (less cast members) and instead they’ll just cover the ground with sand.
I’m interested to see if it will be set-dressed for a frosty winter.
Biggest chess board ever.
Or their comparable game, cyvasse. 🙂
http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Cyvasse
They’ve also laid down plywood boards along the entrance corridor, which they didn’t use when I was there when they prepped in 2016. Could it be for fake snow?
Jon Snow VS The Night King
It’s dang-near mid-April yet there’s still plenty of the real stuff outside my window right now. They can take it all!! 😛
Maybe we’re making too much of this… Perhaps they’ll simply use the Dragonpit as the place to burn all the bodies like was done for the Great Spring Sickness. 🙂
no, probably not
Clob,
Well, this is another valid option TBH. They can scatter plenty of corpse props from before.
That structure sure won’t support Cleganebowl! 😝
Nah. There will be a small trap door leading to the underground pit. With most of the main players in the audience waiting in breathless anticipation, a solitary figure will emerge from the underground chamber. The diminutive orator climbs up the steps, applause erupts, and when the cheers subside, the speaker’s voice reverberates among the hushed and anxious audience:
“I once brought a jackass and a honeycomb into a brothel…”
Ten Bears,
Ahh… Tyrion on tour for his one man comedy show! I wonder if the tickets will be reasonable enough for the common folk.
I figured it would be the first show of Marillion’s comeback tour. Derp.
I don’t know how the producers expect those little barriers to keep the dragons out
Putting Cersei on trial would be fun
It could be for the Red Panda…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSB4O_p6pxw
Apollo,
It maybe wights running into the pit, when the WW r storming KL.
Here’s an off-the-wall suggestion – is it possible that Cersei, being so irritated with the grandness of Dany’s entrance last season, has decided SHE wants a try at having a dragon? I may be wrong, but as far as we know, she has no idea about an underlying psychic connection between Dany and her dragons. All Cersei would see is that another female has successfully tamed dragons, so why wouldn’t she be able to have Qyburn figure a way to drop one from the sky so she could have a try at controlling it. Maybe she figures if she gets one, she can put the pit back to its original use.
Other than that, I have no idea about what the use for the pit would be. Maybe another parlay, maybe a crowning, maybe executions. Maybe she will go full Aerys and start burning people alive for the spectacle. These speculations are the fun part of the off-season. This site is about the only thing that makes the wait tolerable.
Clob,
Where is your window?
Cleganebowl!
Compared to Thronetender’s vision of Cersei trying to tame one of Dany’s dragons sounds Cleganbowl rather boooooring.
Funeral (cremation) is a good guess. Valar morghulis after all. And that may take some time to film: getting the righ expressions from the survivors, etc. I like the idea.
I could see that, actually.
Fewer.