VFX supervisor Mike Bell explains how King's Landing in House of the Dragon differs from its predecessor. A prequel to Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon returns to the key location of King's Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. From the first episode when a young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen flies over King's Landing on Syrax, audiences noticed that the capital city looks a little different than it did in Game of Thrones. Presumably, this is due to House of the Dragon being set about 200 years prior, as well as some visual effects changes made behind the scenes.
During an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, VFX supervisor Mike Bell provided an in-depth explanation for why King's Landing looks different in House of the Dragon. Bell explains that Game of Thrones used digital matte painting, while the bigger-budget prequel show was able to create a fully CGI city. Since House of the Dragon is set hundreds of years prior, King's Landing also hasn't been built up as much yet. Read Bell's full explanation below:
A huge asset of ours was King's Landing. We had a full CG, fully recognized King's Landing with all its encompassing buildings: the Red Keep, the Dragonpit, the Grand Sept, and the new tourney ground. In prior seasons of Game of Thrones, they tended to use digital matte painting, and they did a great job. But what we wanted to do here was have a full CG King's Landing, so we could pretty much put a camera anywhere and have an establishing shot from this or that angle. We weren't tied into original footage, which also meant that we could place cameras within actual rooms in the Red Keep and go, "This is what the view from the king's apartment should be. This is exactly what he would be seeing," or, "This is what the small council should be." We could then do shots like the opening sequence, where Syrax flies over King's Landing, which you wouldn't have necessarily been able to do before.
King's Landing itself was less built up and not quite as big. It's still huge, but it doesn't stretch out quite so far. The buildings should not be quite so high; they're going to be a bit lower. Initially, it was no more than two stories—maybe on some occasions, three stories high. Obviously, the Dragonpit was a ruin in Game of Thrones, but it was now a fully-formed and usable building. As far as the city, we were actually dressing all the streets with market stalls and ladders and props, as well as CG people just walking around. Because it was a younger city and not necessarily as developed with cobbled streets, Miguel wanted it to be dirtier and dustier. Every view had a layer of dust and smoke flying around.
There are maps of what the city looks like, in terms of where certain districts and demographics live, so we really worked on that as well. The Red Keep is surrounded by the houses of the people that work there, so they should be nicer than the people in Flea Bottom, which is more of a slum. Then the houses around the Dragonpit tend to be the dragon keepers, so they're more working class. But the roads and areas are all the same, because if you see views of a city street now versus 100 years ago, everything's placed the same but just slightly different. The thinking was, "How would this have looked before it was developed?"
What Other Game of Thrones Locations Will Appear In HOTD Season 2?
With House of the Dragon season 1 setting the stage for the ensuing civil war, the first 10 episodes were primarily set in King's Landing and Dragonstone, the ancestral seat of the Targaryens in Westeros. With the Dance of the Dragons set to heat up in season 2, the show will be expanding its scope to some new locations, many of them seen before in Game of Thrones. However, during House of the Dragon's season 1 finale, Lucerys' ill-fated quest to secure the support of Lord Borros did reveal a look at Storm's End, the first time the ancestral seat of House Baratheon was seen in either the prequel or its predecessor.
During the House of the Dragon season 1 finale, Jacaerys was also sent as an envoy to secure House Stark as an ally. This is a strong indication that House of the Dragon season 2 will head to Winterfell, the famous Stark stronghold in the north which played a crucial role in Game of Thrones. Jace will also likely head to the Vale of Arryn to ask for the powerful house's support.
House of the Dragon season 2 and beyond will also likely revisit the Riverlands and the Iron Islands, both important locations in Game of Thrones. Depending on what historical accounts from George R.R. Martin's source material, Fire & Blood, that House of the Dragon decides to adapt, the show could visit even more iconic locations from Game of Thrones, including The Wall. More will be revealed as House of the Dragon season 2 progresses through production.