Among the many things fans are looking forward to when it comes to House of the Dragon season 3 are the battles. Viewers were disappointed in the second season because of slower pacing and lack of action, but that’s all about to change in the next installment. Starting with a bang, the season 3 premiere will feature the highly anticipated Battle of the Gullet, and that’s not the only big event to look forward to.
Though there’s more excitement to come in the season after the Battle of the Gullet, that is the one event the season 3 marketing is hyping up the most. And for good reason. Showrunner Ryan Condal admitted it was “frankly irresponsible” how much money they spent to make it such a spectacle, and the behind-the-scenes looks we’ve gotten so far tease something absolutely epic.
House of the Dragon breaks record for most stunt people on fire in one take
As we inch closer to the season 3 premiere—and the Battle of the Gullet—on Sunday, June 21, we’ve just learned that House of the Dragon has broken a record previously held by Game of Thrones, and it all comes down to the production. In a new behind-the-scenes featurette posted today, the cast and crew takes us to the filming days for the huge naval battle, showing stunt performers on fire.
As Emmy winning stunt coordinator Rowley Irlam explains in the video below, the team was aware they could break a world record, and they went for it. “This season called for a big burn. It called for 20 guys, if we just add three people to that, it would be a world record.” With 23 stunt people ignited in just one take, they made TV history.
Though some fans side-eyed Condal for his claims that the season 3 premiere is “arguably the craziest episode of television ever made,” when it comes to the sheer scale of production of the battle, he’s probably not far off. Also revealed in the featurette is that a whopping three million liters of water was used, as well as over 200 tons of steel. “Just a normal day in special effects,” joked SFX supervisor Mike Dawson.
The battle will see fighting on ships, in the water, and, of course, on dragons. Multiple dragons will be present at this one, which means a whole lot of dragonfire. Considering Game of Thrones didn’t have nearly as many dragons as House of the Dragon does, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that the prequel surpassed the original show in this regard. As for the third season as a whole, the crew used an impressive 25 tons of propane.
The previous record set for most stunt performers on fire in one take came in 2017, when the Game of Thrones season 7 episode “The Spoils of War” premiered. That’s when Daenerys Targaryen makes a surprise attack on the Lannister and Tary armies, riding Drogon and burning people in the process. Funny enough, Irlam worked on the stunts for that episode as well, now effectively breaking his own record.
“No film or TV show has ever done that in a whole show, let alone in one sequence. We also set 20 people on fire at one time, which is also a record,” Irlam said to Entertainment Weekly at the time.
Game of Thrones had some of the most epic battles and action sequences in television history—if not the most epic—from the Battle of the Bastards to the Battle of Winterfell and more. Though House of the Dragon still has something to prove in that department, we have a feeling the Battle of the Gullet will solidify itself as one of the most impressive ever.
We don’t have long to find out now! House of the Dragon season 3 premieres on Sunday, June 21 on HBO and HBO Max.
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