House of the Dragon filming delayed over positive COVID test

Emma D’Arcy as "Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen" and Matt Smith as "Prince Daemon Targaryen" in House of the Dragon. Photograph by Ollie Upton/HBO
Emma D’Arcy as "Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen" and Matt Smith as "Prince Daemon Targaryen" in House of the Dragon. Photograph by Ollie Upton/HBO

And the coronavirus pandemic continues to bedevil the film industry. The Spanish-language publication Hoy reports that filming on House of the Dragon — HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series — has been delayed after a member of the technical crew tested positive for COVID.

Specifically, filming has been delayed in the Spanish city of Cáceres‎, where the crew was due to shoot one final scene tonight; Reddit has some footage of a huge lighting rig used to brighten up the town square if you’re interested. Instead, the crew will return to Cáceres on November 3, after filming other scenes in the nearly Spanish town of Trujillo and in the village of Monsanto in Portugal. Extras in Cáceres have been told that filming will resume then.

Game of Thrones prequel delayed by the pandemic…again

HBO frequently subjects everyone in its employ to diagnostic tests to prevent potential coronavirus infection, and this isn’t the first time House of the Dragon has needed to shut down over the pandemic. The whole industry has been like that since this whole thing started in 2020, and although things are better now than they used to be, it’s still an extra expense on top of what is already a very costly show.

Delays or not, House of the Dragon is scheduled to premiere on HBO and HBO Max sometime in 20222.

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