It may be the off-season for Game of Thrones, but information continues to trickle out to the fandom. As we previously reported, major construction activity has been spotted at Moneyglass, the site where Winterfell exterior and courtyard scenes are filmed, and today an eagle-eyed fan has captured photos and a video of even more work getting underway at the location in Northern Ireland.
According to Twitter user @Cathair96, Winterfell is being prepped for filming with a blanket of snow on the ground, visible in the center of the photo, as well as the installation of “massive metal walls” meant to restrict fans and passers-by from sneaking a peek at production:
Cathair also captured a short video driving past the entrance to the Winterfell site, where more building materials, equipment trailers and vans are visible in a parking lot at the :25 second mark:
Cathair said that while no filming was underway and the lots weren’t quite full of production vehicles yet, the site definitely appears to be ready for filming to commence very shortly — and we’ll keep you up to date when it does!
Wow..that guy has really a eagle eye…so the Winter is HERE..YAY i cant wait for S8
It seems Winterfell is going to take center stage in S8 and I can’t wait! Though, it’s going to be weird seeing Dany and her crew having scenes in the Stark ancestral home. And if Jaime makes his way there, that place is going to be lit! With so many characters in one place, it’s no wonder production is expanding and sprucing up the place.
“…a blanket of snow on the ground, visible in the center of the photo, as well as the installation of “massive metal walls” meant to restrict fans and passers-by from sneaking a peek at production”
Sigh, the year of the walls. On one hand, I understand the security measures, and the need to keep plot details as secret as possible. On the other hand, I have certainly enjoyed in past off-seasons whatever pictures that fans managed to snag. I hope scenes of filming won’t be too limited, it’s a long off-season this time. Thank you to the eagle-eyed fan who got these pics/vids.
Now we can start debating whether or not the WW will head in a straight line south, through the Last Hearth and the Dreadfort, or if they will migrate west toward Winterfell. The point that they can’t swim was specifically made in Ep 7. So, if their intent is to make their way down the whole of Westeros, at some point they will have head west, so they can proceed down the center, through the Neck. Could it be that we will be seeing dragon battles over Winterfell?
I just re-watched Episode 7. That quiet scene with Jamie in new clothes, covering his gold hand, has become a favorite. Do you think he will head to Winterfell first? It seems logical, and an easier destination than Dragonstone. He’s been to Winterfell, so he knows the way: straight North on the Kings Road. It will be dangerous for him to travel alone. I’d like to think Bronn finds out he left, and hurries to join him.
Thronetender,
Bronn would be a fool to stick around because of Cersei so I reckon he will head north too. 🙂
As for Jaime, I’m hoping his journey north brings in Edmure Tully. The actor wasn’t available for season 7 apparently so technically he’s still in the Frey’s dungeon.
It would seem smart for most of them to avoid the big fortress castles of the north (Winterfell), so as to get to the ignorant, unprotected, vulnerable south. Then they could basically hit Winterfell from all sides at once. (And wouldn’t Cersei be surprised! But that one would sacrifice the entire population of Westeros in order to keep herself safe.)
Indeed. Plus, Bronn now knows Tyrion is heading towards Winterfell (or Dragonstone?), and Tyrion is the only remaining Lannister who actually pays his debts.
Imagine a “Ghost of Winterfell” chapter-esque scene with all of these major players there instead. Snowed in and over crowded, and all of a sudden in place of drums: a Viserion screech…
Thronetender,
I keep thinking they will head south to populated White Harbor – seems weird that Jon made a point of specifically stating the ship that he and Dany are on is heading there. Think there may be some action in that area.
Thronetender,
“The point that they can’t swim was specifically made in Ep. 7.”
————
Maybe they won’t have to swim: “The cold breath of winter will freeze the seas.” (Melisandre, S2e1). Maybe they’ll be able to stroll right across the frozen surface like they did in “Beyond the Wall.”
Forgive my naivete: Is that picture of Winterfell at the top of the article CGI’d to include all of the turrets and towers? If not, they should turn it into a tourist attraction after S8.
Ten Bears,
That is all CGI.
I thought it would be! It would be pretty impressive if HBO doled out the money to make a set like that 😉
Didn’t think much of the video! The car was traveling too fast with mostly fences and greenery flashing pass.
No more balcony scenes!
No more balcony scenes!
No more balcony scenes!
Thronetender,
I think that scene is my very favorite of all of S7, and I’m not even a Jaime fangirl. It got to me in a way that really surprised me.
Oh, good thinking, he’d have to pass by the Twins anyway. That makes sense. Unless the remaining female Freys already had the sense to release him. I’m assuming there are very few, if any, male Freys left, right? At least not ones who would object to Edmure being freed. If the WW ever get that far, the Twins might be an effective stronghold.
??? You mean like Sansa and Arya being so nice to each other at the end, commenting how much they miss Ned? Or Sansa telling Jon at end of Season 6 that winter is officially here, resulting in that rare, beautiful smile from Jon? I could stand a few more of those.
I’d go see it.
Same here – I didn’t like Jaime at the beginning. If you watch any scene of him from the early seasons, he was always so ready to insult anyone else he talked to, it made you want to smack him. But in Ep 7 this year, when Cersei hissed at him that she always knew he was the stupidest Lannister, I yelled at the tv with a variety of foul names for her in his defense. Surprised the heck out of me.
No, the lower ones (whatever they might be called) that Sansa was glued to with LF for half of season 7. BURN THEM ALL.
Thronetender,
I’m guessing Jaime won’t have an easy time making his way North. He is wanted, dead or alive, what with being a Lannister responsible for the red wedding slaughter. Is there anyone in the North who won’t execute him, on sight – of his golden hand?
Pigeon,
Don’t worry. You’ll get 938293327 battlement scenes instead.
Yes apologies for the video. We actually drove up and down multiple times and this was literally the best take out of all of them.
Unless someone with a fantastic zoom camera from afar can set up and spy, it’s as good as you’ll get now with the metal fences. Previous seasons you’d see a lot more but security is top notch this season.
I think Jamie won’t head straight to Winterfell. The real question is will he first head west to try and rally a Westerland army to the cause. That would cause a very interesting dynamic. Would Lannister bannerman follow Jamie or Cersei’s commands.
JS,
There are still Lannister armies in the Riverlands, which is on the way to Winterfell.
Did I miss something? How was Jaime complicit in the Red Wedding? If he were “wanted dead or alive” for the Red Wedding massacre, Arya aka the serving girl at the Frey-Lannister party would have taken him out in S6.
I hope I’m wrong. Then S8 can start with a cold open of the Kingslayer riding alone, when suddenly he’s surrounded by Nymeria and her hungry wolf pack… then Arya appears and tells him: “A Lannister always pays his debts? Yours is long overdue. It’s payback time, deadbeat.”
Flayed Potatoes,
I thought you were talking about the battlements scenes as well. Yeah, there were probably enough balcony scenes – a majority of Sansa’s for the season. They do like those battlements scenes though and so far they’ve all been pretty good. However, they may not want to go to that well too many times either.
After watching the first season of Outlander I will never see Edmure Tully the same way. Cpt Jack Randall gives Ramsay Bolton a run for his money.
Ten Bears,
For what it’s worth, it was Jaime who told Roose to tell the Starks “The Lannisters send their regards”.
Thronetender,
” I’d like to think Bronn finds out he left, and hurries to join him.”
I don’t know…Bronn was kind of a butt when he snitched out Tyrion and Jaimes’ meeting. I’m still mad at him lol
Thanks for your reply. Yep, I can can quite understand the problems due to the metal fences and increased security and especially as this being the final season.
One needs one of those cameras with huge telephoto lenses such as the paps used for the beach scenes that were filmed in Zumaia and caputured by the paps from the other side of the bay last year! Ideally from a high point looking down on the film set, but whether such a place exists near Moneyglass I’ve no idea. The terrain looks pretty flat around that area?
What does this mean? Bronn did not snitch anything to anyone. ????
FWIW, Jaime wasn’t in on the planning of the Red Wedding – he was a prisoner and being escorted around the Riverlands by Brienne when Tywin Lannister, Roose Bolton and Walder Frey planned the whole thing.
When Jaime and Brienne ended up in Harrenhal with Roose, Jaime realised something was up with the wedding and with Roose agreeing to deliver Jaime safely to KL, but he had no idea what would actually happen. Roose asked Jaime to convey his regards to Tywin, and Jaime replied by sending the Lannister regards to the wedding, almost an offhand remark, which, of course, sounds very much worse afterwards, especially given the way Roose conveyed those regards.
Book! and show!Jaime did not expect full-scale Stark/Northern massacre, much like book!Jaime didn’t expect his father to order the killing of Rhaegar’s widow Elia and his two children. You know nothing, Jaime Lannister, lol. (The show hasn’t really addressed Jaime’s feelings of guilt about Rhaegar’s children… yet? But a time might come, what with him heading north for the real war, lead by a child of Rhaegar’s…)
Also, even if Jaime had learned the whole Red Wedding plan from Roose in Harrenhal (which he didn’t), what could he do? He was being escorted by Bolton soldiers so it was not like he could send a raven to Robb, wherever on the march he was, “Don’t go, it’s a trap!”
Jaime had some leverage with Steelshanks (the Bolton man in charge) to go back and rescue Brienne (who was a nobody in the grand scheme of things but personally important to Jaime), but I don’t think Jaime insisting they race to warn Robb would’ve been as successful. Besides, why would Jaime want to warn Robb? The guy was an enemy of his family and the Crown, at war with them, and personally held him prisoner for a year or so in pretty shirty conditions.
Jaime was probably happy that Roose Bolton had apparently turned against Robb, was about to betray Robb in some way and join the Lannister cause. He, however, had no part in planning or executing the Red Wedding, and afterwards was quite taken aback by the enormity. It’s clearer in the books, but even show!Jaime seems a tad uncomfortable about it. It wasn’t clean (remember Jaime in S1 to Tywin on why he didn’t kill Ned: “It wouldn’t have been clean”) or honourable… which is one of the reasons he sends Brienne on her quest – directly against Lannister and especially Cersei’s interests.
Sorry for another long post but being a Jaime “fangirl”, I felt I needed to clear this one point. I could write reams about Jaime: his past, present and future, lol, but that’s off-topic for this article.
Back on topic, I love these tiny glimpses of preparing for filming activity. Thank you, Cathair. It makes it seem more real, season 8 is underway, we’ll eventually get it on our screens!
Oh, and all that fake snow around “Winterfell”, and the trees are still fully green and in leaf! Not very wintery, lol. Where I live (northern Europe), the trees right now are a riot of yellows, oranges and reds, with the evergreen pines and spruce giving a nice, darker green contrast.
Just think, all the production staff and cast are living the end of the series right now! Yikes! And we have to wait until 2019!
That said, I don’t want full-blown script leaks, and I hope the eagles take down the drones which try to spy on the outdoor filming. I want to have some teasing hints, not the whole story. I have to be careful around the internet for the next 18 months or so, lol!
Black Raven,
Well, this is drone footage from last year (not during filming though, but it shows the terrain.
talvikorppi,
It was a joke. By no means I have ever throught Jaime had anything to do with the Red Wedding planning: that wasn’t his way and deep in his heart he should have felt quite unhappy about that – after all, Tywin robbed Jaime of a chance to meet Robb on a battlefield and pay back the debt. But one way or another Jaime will have a hard time with the Starks.
Inga,
Ah, OK, a joke I didn’t understand. But maybe it’s good I explained for all the others who didn’t get the joke either.
Good point about Tywin robbing Jaime of a chance to meet Robb in the field and beat him “clean”.
And no doubt he’ll have a rough time with the Starks and the northeners, and also Dany (he killed her father, after all…) It’s going to be interesting. I don’t expect him to survive to the end, but killing him for simple “Stark revenge” would be anti-climatic and unsatisfying.
Yeah, and I want a Jaime/Tormund meet-up, with maybe Brienne present. 😀
From White Harbor, it’s a straight shot up the White Knife River (and its tributary) to Winterfell. That’s the path Catelyn took (in reverse) to get to King’s Landing ahead of Robert’s party in Book One. Faster, and generally safer than the overland route. Moreover, the Manderlys hold White Harbor, and they’re Stark allies and bannermen.