‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 8 Begins Production: Kit Harington, Emilia Clarke Spotted In Belfast [Pics]
Game of Thrones hasn’t announced when exactly will it return to television, but here’s an exciting news for GoT fans — Season 8 is on its way! According to multiple fan reports, filming for the final season started this week. Many of the show’s actors have been spotted in Belfast, including Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke.
On Sunday, October 8, a fan tweeted that he was on a plane to Belfast, Ireland, when the GoT cast got on the same flight. As reported by Buzzfeed, another fan spotted a bunch of actors in Belfast: Kristofer Hivju (Tormund), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaimie Lannister), Pilou Asbaek (Euron Greyjoy), Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont), Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark), and Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm).
The sighting of actor Kristofer Hivju is a major spoiler that he will still be around for Season 8. The Norwegian actor plays Tormund, the wildling friend of Jon Snow in the series. In the Game of Thrones Season 7 finale, many fans were concerned that Tormund has joined the list of killed-off characters. Tormund was last seen at the Wall when the Night King and his Army of the Dead (and their new ice dragon) were finally able to crush it down.
new: emilia clarke arriving at the airport in belfast pic.twitter.com/xMk0avbel5
— emilia clarke news (@gifsclarke) October 9, 2017
Meanwhile, Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke arrived at the Belfast airport together on October 10. Emilia, who plays Daenerys Targaryen on the show, is sporting her newly dyed blonde hair. The two were later seen strolling around the streets of the city with John Bradley (Sam Tarly).
According to fans’ accounts, security for this season is ultra tight, and many weren’t allowed to take pictures with their favorite Game of Thrones characters. One fan sighted real-life besties Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) and Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) but was told that photos were forbidden. Another fan did luckily manage to take a quick selfie with John Bradley, while Emilia Clarke sweetly signed her autograph for a fan at a local coffee shop.
NEW: sophie turner and maisie williams spotted in belfast, meaning that filming for season eight may have begun! pic.twitter.com/uSjYbcnemv
— Game Of Thrones News (@gameofupdates) October 8, 2017
HBO is surely doing everything keep GoT Season 8 totally spoiler-free. Due to fans’ excitement, Game of Thrones has suffered many leaks in the past, but the last season was the worst for HBO. Aside from the scripts, at least two episodes were hacked and leaked before they were aired.
Liam Cunningham (aka Davos Seaworth) recently told IGN that he already has the scripts for all six episodes of Season 8. However, he says there’s no way to read them until he’s in Belfast because HBO has encrypted a security code in the digital file.
“I got six of [the scripts], I’ve got them all. But I can’t open them because of all the security, and I can’t walk it out.”
Part of HBO’s new security measures also reportedly includes filming fake scenes to throw off paparazzi and curious fans. Game of Thrones Season 8 will only have six episodes, but each one is said to be cinematically long. It is believed to air either late 2018 or 2019.
[Featured Image by Macall B. Polay/HBO]
