“I’m really excited. I think you’re going to be in for a great surprise on how we start the [season] with an exciting battle,” HBO Head of Drama Series and Films Francesca Orsi told Deadline during a White Lotus season 3 premiere event.
That exciting battle, of course, is the aforementioned Battle of the Gullet. While the Game of Thrones universe is no stranger to big battle sequences, the Battle of the Gullet still stands out as a major event. Described as one of the bloodiest sea battles in Westerosi history, this naval engagement finds the forces of the Blacks and House Velaryon clashing with the Greens and the Triarchy in a thin stretch of water between Driftmark and Massey’s Point (in the Crownlands) known as the Gullet. The conflict leads to casualties for man and dragon alike and marks a turning point in the Dance of the Dragons Targaryen civil war.
Suffice it to say, House of the Dragon not only needed to include the Battle of the Gullet but it needed to get it right. And according to Orsi, the delay to season 3 allowed showrunner Ryan Condal and the production team to do just that.
“I’m so glad we waited because it’s going to be better than ever, and I don’t think we had the time at that point to do what it is that we’ve achieved now this season. It’s just so massive, we needed the time to build it. One of the lead producers on it [Kevin de la Noy] worked on Titanic, so all that he brought in terms of acumen of what happened on the Titanic and how that entire experience is built, he brings that expertise to it.”
House of the Dragon season 2 was one of the few Hollywood productions to continue work amid the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, due to its U.K. filming location and crew. But it’s now clearer than ever that the season faced something of a time crunch due to its unique creative environment, as it did in season 1 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The good news is that House of the Dragon season 3 is “gearing up to begin production” now per Deadline. And surely there will be no more labor stoppages, pandemics, or geopolitical turmoil to jeopardize the show for a third year in a row.
