Hurricane Ophelia affecting filming on Game of Thrones season 8?

Hurricane Ophelia has been downgraded to a post-tropical storm, but it’s still causing multifarious problems as it passes by the British Isles. Flights have been cancelled, schools closed, and power lost. At the moment, three people have died.

Happily, the storm should be out to sea soon. But before it leaves, it passed through Northern Ireland, where Game of Thrones does much of its filming. Titantic Studios in Belfast, the production’s nerve center, was affected as well, with The Guardian reporting that the building of sets for the show was suspended.

Nonetheless, preproduction continues, and at least one new set has been spotted next to the Paint Hall at Titanic Studios, although it may have gone up before the storm hit. Los Siete Reinos has posted photos of it:

As LSR points out, it doesn’t necessarily look like a Game of Thrones set from a distance — it kind of looks modern — but it’s early yet, so who knows what it will look like when construction is complete? It could serve as part of a larger building. In any case, given the intense security, the timing, and Titanic’s close association with Game of Thrones, this is likely a set for the show, even if we can’t tell what it will be used for.

Watchers on the Wall has another photo of a different part of the structure, courtesy of PAP4U.

One more piece of info: according to LSR, this set underwent a controlled fire test, meaning that at some point in season 8, whatever building it represents is probably going to go up in flames.

Relatedly, another Game of Thrones cast members has been spotted in Belfast:

He’s gonna need a big trailer.

Next: Actor Marc Rissmann joins the season 8 cast as a book chraracter

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h/t BBC News