Game of Thrones is over, but we’ll be feeling its influence for a long time to come, both in terms of how TV is made and through the tourism industry. In addition to entertaining people, Game of Thrones created a lot of jobs and provided a boost to several local economies, particularly in Northern Ireland, where many of its sets were built. A lot of those sets are still standing, including the massive King’s Landing set built on a backlot at Titanic Studios in Belfast:
King's Landing still stands 🤯
— Amy Forster-Smith (@AmyForsterSmith) August 13, 2019
We thought #GameOfThrones team would have taken the set of the charred remains of the capital city away by now, but it's still here in #Belfast. Looks like it's been tidied up well & possibly being kept for future public access...? @GoTlikeLocation pic.twitter.com/k10bFybq4k
HBO built the King’s Landing set with the intention of preserving it as a tourist attraction, although we haven’t heard much about that for a while. We do know, however, that the network will be running a Game of Thrones Studio Tour our of Linen Mill Studios in Corbet-Banbridge. This was another key Game of Thrones filming location. Outdoors, this is where the show filmed scenes like the Greyjoy sea battle in season 7 and the scenes at Riverrun in season 6. And indoors, they could have built just about anything. “Showcasing authentic sets, costumes and props from all seasons of the hit series, this engaging, enchanting tour will allow fans to truly step inside the world of Westeros and beyond,” reads the website.
The Twitter account @BloodmoonIrl has been in contact with Linen Mill Studios, which informed him that booking for the studio tour will open next week, with the tour itself opening in the fall of 2020. So keep your eye on the Game of Thrones Studio Tour website, and get ready to be whisked back to Westeros.
We don’t know exactly what will be on the tour, but we can rest assured that HBO will put plenty of interesting props and costumes and such on display, in addition to whatever sets they still have standing. Of particularly interest is what may happen to the other sets scattered throughout Northern Ireland. The Winterfell set at Moneyglass, for example, is still standing…but it’s not in great shape:
Best case scenario: HBO and the Northern Irish tourism industry will fix these sets up and open them to the public. At minimum, you’d figure they’d maintain the King’s Landing one at Titanic Studios. After all, HBO is making a prequel show about the Targaryen dynasty. That thing is suddenly useable again!
Stay tuned for more.
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