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Game of Thrones’ first prequel was filmed in a car park behind containers to keep it secret

Game of Thrones’ first prequel was filmed in a car park behind containers to keep it secret

They borrowed a trick from the original series to get rid of prying eyes…

The Night King in Game of Thrones

HBO

Huw Fullerton

Published: Monday, 23 September 2019 at 10:54 am

Game of Thrones was always a fairly secretive show, especially to the end, and it seems like one of its eagerly-anticipated “successor shows” will be following in its furtive footsteps.

Or at least that’s what Jonathan Ross has claimed, with the talk show host revealing that the series, created by his wife Jane Goldman – the prequel set thousands of years before Thrones, and starring John Simm and Naomi Watts, not to be confused with the new Targaryen one – went to some unusual lengths to keep the shooting of the pilot away from prying eyes.

"I’ve been living more or less in Belfast, where they filmed it, for the past six months,” he told the Mirror.

"I’ve never seen a bigger set, they built it in a car park and surrounded it with containers to block it off from view. But people could still see it as it was next to the Titanic Museum, which has an observation deck that oversees it – ‘Oh look, Naomi Watts'."

Notably, the trick of hiding sets from prying eyes (and cameras) with a wall of shipping containers was one used by HBO during filming for the final series of Game of Thrones – specifically scenes in King’s Landing during the penultimate episode – so it’s good to see that the untitled prequel is keeping up a few traditions.

And while Ross may be a LITTLE biased, he seems to think the untitled prequel (rumoured to be called Bloodmoon) could follow Thrones in quality as well.

“[Jane’s] doing amazing,” Ross said.

“I’ve seen the pilot and it’s a great cast, including a couple of people I suggested.”

So who knows? Maybe in a few years the citizens of Westeros will be all over the Emmys once again…

Authors

Radio Times commissioning editor Huw Fullerton. He sits in front of a shelving unit, looking at the camera and smiling. He wears glasses and has a moustache

Huw FullertonCommissioning editor

Huw Fullerton is a commissioning editor for Radio Times magazine handling comedy, entertainment and specialist drama. In a previous regeneration, he covered all things sci-fi and fantasy for RadioTimes.com.

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