Season 6 WILL feature the Tower of Joy—also, HBO may stop filming the show in Croatia
There was a time when we wondered if Game of Thrones would ever film in Spain again after leaving Dorne behind in Season 5. That time has past. Spanish-language Game of Thrones fansite Los Siete Reinos has a post detailing the show’s filming plans covering pretty much the entire month of September, and there’s a lot to discuss! For those who don’t read Spanish, here’s a rundown of the article’s contents.
First, the site confirms that Castle Zafra (El castillo de Zafra) will be used to portray the Tower of Joy. Yes, THAT Tower of Joy. This place—and the events that occur there—is key to one of the series’ most popular theories; combined with the casting of young Ned Stark and the apparent sighting by Los Siete Reinos of someone who looks like Arthur Dayne, a flashback scene seems all but confirmed. It’s good to know that whatever hesitance D&D had about filming flashbacks is gone; I’m very much looking forward to seeing this scene portrayed on-screen.
The second part of the article is even more intriguing. The show is set to film in the Spanish city of Girona for the majority of September (the 3rd to the 18th). Los Siete Reinos also notes the dubious lack of news about casting calls for extras in Dubrovnik and suggests that HBO may be moving away from Croatia altogether. I’m rather skeptical about this—they’ve used the city of Dubrovnik so extensively for so long now that trying to shoot King’s Landing anywhere else seems unbelievable. On the other hand, with Dubrovnik being such a huge tourist attraction (and even more so with its Thrones popularity), it’s hard to keep secrets for very long: witness how fast we discovered Cersei’s Walk last year.
Time will tell; there’s still plenty of filming to be done once the show moves on from Girona and Castle Zafra. (Los Siete Reinos also floats the possibility of Girona will fill in for both Braavos and Old Town. That seems even less likely to me; how can you capture the Venetian feeling of a city on water, other than actually filming in Venice?)
Regardless, the location scouts have done a bang-up job once again. Castle Zafra looks exactly like how I pictured the Tower of Joy, and it’s strikingly similar to the artwork Fantasy Flight Games uses in its GoT card game. Whatever else happens, this is sure to be a memorable scene in the sixth season.
Next: This little Walder Frey went to Belfast to kill more Starks!