War is coming!
Without seeing this week’s episode of Game of Thrones, we already know it will break a few records.
At 82 minutes long, season eight’s third episode is going to be the longest in the show’s history and its Battle of Winterfell centerpiece will clock in at 40 minutes, making it the longest consecutive battle scene in movie and television history.
This will exceed the epic Battle of Helm’s Deep in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Staging the soon-to-be iconic chapter took 11 weeks and 750 cast and crew members. In comparison, last season’s $10 million ‘Battle of the Bastards’ scene only required 25 days and around 600 people. The upcoming battle which pits the various Houses of the 7 Kingdoms against the undead White Walkers was a grueling experience that shocked even members of the cast.
“It was the most unpleasant experience I’ve had on Thrones,” Jorah Mormont actor Iain Glen said. While Rory McCann who plays The Hound added: “Everybody prays they never have to do this again.” Even everyone’s favorite pint-sized assassin Arya Stark, played by Maisie Williams, agonized by saying: “There are moments you’re just broken as a human and just want to cry.”
It’s sure to be a battle that the North – and everyone else – remembers.
As far as who lives, who dies and who becomes a White Walker, you’ll have to wait until this week’s Game of Thrones episode airs Sunday at 9pm on HBO.