By Season 2 of HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon continues to film in Leavesden Studios at a time of industry turmoil when both the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild are on strike. House of the Dragon is allowed to continue filming because of their deal with Equity UK which is not part of the strike.
With filming more than halfway done, and most of the outdoor location shoots also completed, the Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, and Olivia Cooke starring series are now cocooned away and filming in the sprawling studio near London.
The Triarchy returns
We have come to know that this week House of the Dragon is filming the Triarchy scenes in the backlot of the studios. Although we don’t have details of the scene, we have a couple of photos showing the production scale. We know extras have been involved in the filming but have not been able to confirm who among the main and recurring cast is present.
Actress Ellora Torchia, who plays an unknown character in the series posted a photo of her filming. Although she didn’t mention the studio or the project, the level of secrecy involved in erasing every nameboard in the photo suggests it is an important project with a very strict NDA.
As a reminder, Torchia was present at some of the filming in Caceres, Spain in May 2023.
Caceres stood for King’s Landing so even with all the present info, it’s difficult to speculate who would she be playing in House of the Dragon Season 2.
Some speculated she could be playing Nettles, but it’s too difficult to say.
Will the Battle of Gullet happen in Season 2?
With the Triarchy returning, the obvious question is, what about the Battle of Gullet? The fateful Battle of Gullet is set to be one of the most important action sequences in the entire series and fans are anxious to learn when will we see it.
Stunt coordinator Rowley Irlam spoke to The Hollywood Reporter a few weeks ago where he teased it. Answering a question about something he’d like to do that he didn’t do yet he said: “It’s not a secret that in this story there’s a battle at sea. I think that’s where we’re headed.“
Irlam continued: “The desire is to expand our repertoire to a large sea battle. You can do a sea battle in a car park, but it won’t necessarily feel the same. But there are water tanks, and there’s a tank here in Leavesden. If you’re going to do it, I think you need to do it in a tank. But let’s see what happens.“
This interview was taken during the production of House of the Dragon Season 2 and the way Irlam speaks in hypothetical terms, it sounds like the Battle of Gullet isn’t something they are doing this season. This means more likely Season 3.
The triarchy was an alliance of the Free Cities of Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh. In 96 AC, the three ended their strife and formed an alliance, which under the Myrish prince, Craghas Drahar, the crab feeder led an invasion of the Stepstones. Although the Seven Kingdoms initially supported the Triarchy’s actions, they later grew to resent it, when the Triarchy got too greedy and started demanding excessive tolls for passage across the narrow sea.
HBO recently released a clip in which George RR Martin explains the triarchy and its importance in the events that lead to the dance of the dragons.
The production is expected to continue in Leavesden for the rest of July, with possibly another location shoot in August before they wrap in September.
House of the Dragon Season 2 is in production for a 2024 release at HBO. Follow Redanian Intelligence for more news on House of the Dragon as well as other series.
