Season 8 filming: The Dothraki saddle up

Sure, Game of Thrones threw a big wrap party for the cast and crew, but that doesn’t mean they’ve slowed down. From the King’s Landing set in Belfast to the Cushendun Caves, there’s still a lot going on. Let’s dig into it.

First up, a group of Dothraki extras have sadded up at the Lessans Livery Yard and Riding Stables in Saintfield, Northern Ireland. “What an exciting week we’ve had transforming the yard into a film set,” reads the caption. “Try explaining to a Dothraki warrior that, even though the sun is blazing, Winter is here.”

Incidentally, both these pictures and that caption have been removed from Instagram, but the internet remembers all.

Saintfield, you may recall, is where the Battle of the Bastards was filmed for season 6. The field in question is made for hoses, and we can’t wait to see the Dothraki tear across it.

The above photo is from a while back, but you get the idea. When the special effects department gets done with it, it should be a wintry battlefield.

As for what the extras are filming, we know that some big stuff is going to go down at Winterfell in season 8. We’re guessing this is related.

Elsewhere in Northern Ireland, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) posted an Instagram story that leads us to believe he may be in Ballycastle, in County Antrim. Can you spot the subtle clue he left?

The production has used Ballycastle for a few things over the years. It’s stood in for the Free Cities, and the production visited during production of season 7.

Now, you say, Coster-Waldau could just be in the area visiting? Maybe, but a crew member posted a picture of a very similar sunrise:

Incidentally, that photo wasn’t taken by just any crew member. It was snapped by Bennett Clarke, Emilia’s older brother, who works on the show as a camera trainee. So whatever Coster-Waldau is in Ballycastle to do, it looks like he’s going to be filmed doing it.

As for Bennett’s sister, it looks like she and Kit Harington were spotted at a Belfast airport, but were they coming or going?

"Kit & Emilia spotted at the belfast airport last night from freefolk"

Finally, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (Gregor “the Mountain” Clegane) posted an Instagram story about a cooler full of meals from Clean Cut Meals. The company is located in Galway, Ireland, so the actor is still in spitting distance of Game of Thrones filming activity.

"The Mountain is still in Belfast from freefolk"

The work continues.

Next: Hannah Murray: Game of Thrones doesn’t have “a fairytale happy ending”

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