Filming has finally begun on Season 3 of HBO’s wildly popular series Game of Thrones. Thanks to the Official Production Diary, we’ve learned that one of the first scenes to be shot is a battle sequence, taking place on location in Northern Ireland in the forests of Clandeboye.
The diary describes it:
It was an important rehearsal, and the two main protagonists are two of my season favorites: an unexpected pairing, whose war of words is almost as full-on as the fight. This struggle has been choreographed and rehearsed for weeks, with each move carefully placed to match the terrain. The fighters wore pads and fell on crash matts, though for the close-ups later in the week, during the first night shoot of the season, the landing would not be quite so comfortable. It will be a character-defining scene, for more than one who is involved, so it has to be done well.
We can only guess the identity of the person in the picture. Jon Snow? Robb Stark? Someone else? But if memory serves correctly, there are a large number of significant battles in the book version of A Storm of Swords. No doubt the series will have just as many.
And if you’ve seen Season 1 or read the books, then you know that no characters are safe. And beware the song The Rains of Castamere.
Game of Thrones returns to HBO on March 31, 2013.