The title clash in HBO’s “Battle of the Bastards,” the upcoming episode in Season 6 of ratings juggernautGame of Thrones, is expected to be the biggest military conflict in the history of the series. Long-time fans of the show will think back to such climactic engagements as the titular battles in “Blackwater” and “Hardhome,” but this one should reduce those to mere skirmishes.
EWgot an angle on the numbers behind the production of the show’s biggest battle to date. It’ll be a chance for directorMiguel Sapochnik, who also directed “Hardhome,” to work with a presumably bigger budget and show off his handling of large-scale action on the biggest screens available without escalating to feature-size. The fullyhour-long episodewill also give Jon Snow (Kit Harington) an opportunity to right his family’s wrongs when he comes up against Ramsey Bolton (Iwan Rheon) and his bloodthirsty army.
While it’s one thing forGeorge R.R. Martinto write about an epic battle in the pages of “A Song of Ice and Fire,” it’s a whole other beast to bring that to life on screen. That takes hundreds of crew members and extras, plus a number of other episode-specific requirements that push the budget higher and higher. Here’s how Sapochnik described the reasoning behind filming such a big battle (viaEW):
“Every battle onThronesis unique. I think that’s why [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] keep doing them. In the case of ‘Battle of the Bastards’ – or ‘BOB’ as we affectionately called it in production – David and Dan wanted to do a thing of spectacle, a strategic pitchfield battle they hadn’t had the resources to do back in season 1 or 2. I was particularly interested in depicting both the horror of war and the roll of luck in battle.”
Let’s take a look at EW’s breakdown of the numbers behind the mayhem:
Are you looking forward to the events of “Battle of the Bastards,” even if it will likely result in the deaths of some major characters? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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