'Game of Thrones' May Be Building a Real Wall, Witholding Scripts From Actors
"Game of Thrones" season 8 is currently in production, and HBO is keeping a tight lid on information. But there are small trickles of info emerging about what's happening on the sets, as well as a few details spilled by actors on the series. Not all of these reports may be accurate, but let's take a look.
The often-reliable Watchers on the Wall reports that a lot of construction activity has been observed in Moneyglass, Ireland where the Winterfell castle set is located. Images and other information posted online by an Irish local known as "Salem the (Cat)háir" showed that a blanket of snow has been prepared for the Winterfell scenes. Furthermore, the crew erected "massive" metal walls that are meant to keep prying eyes from getting a glimpse at the shoot.
Because the walls are going up around the Winterfell set, the Nerdist speculates that season 8 is going to have a blockbuster battle action sequence at that location. That's hardly a risky bet, given that Winterfell has been a key "Game of Thrones" setting from day one, and it is almost certain to get an important setpiece or two in the show's final season. It's even more likely with the White Walkers and their army of the dead marching south from the Wall.
Security is so tight that the show's cast is beginning to feel restricted, apparently. Winter Is Coming reports that actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau had a guest appearance on a Scandinavian talk show called "Skavlan." Coster-Waldau discussed the increasingly elaborate security measures imposed by HBO, although one must keep in mind that he may be joking.
The actor said that HBO was so paranoid about leaks, the production would only send digital files of the scripts to the cast. Then it began adding extra security steps such as email verification. Then it began to watermark the files to easily track any leaks. Finally, according to Coster-Waldau, HBO has completely stopped providing scripts to the actors.
"Now we are going to do a scene, we will be told what's going to happen and then we roll," Coster-Waldau said. "We're all going to have earpieces for the scene and then someone's going to tell you the line and then your going to do the line."
While such a scenario is possible, Watchers on the Wall believes that Coster-Waldau is just kidding. After all, his fellow cast member Liam Cunningham has previously spoken about getting all of the scripts of the season. Who are we to trust more, the Kingslayer or Ser Davos Seaworth?
