House of the Dragon is still halfway through, but the series has just delivered one of the biggest setpieces: the Battle of Rook’s Rest.
Interestingly, the location chosen to shoot the scene, Bourne Wood, was inspired by Ridley Scott’s Gladiator.
How Gladiator Inspired the Battle of Rook’s Rest in HOTD
In the latest instalment of the House of the Dragon making-of docuseries, The House that Dragons Built, director Alan Taylor revealed that they were shooting at the same location that was the opening battle scene for the original Gladiator.
Production designer Jim Clay explained, “Bourne Wood is a bit of a popular location because it goes back to Gladiator days and Ridley Scott. So you think, 'If Ridley Scott chose it, then it’s got to be pretty good,’ and it did.”
For context, here’s the opening battle scene from Gladiator, fully packed with Roman soldiers:
Actor Fabien Frankel, who plays the part of Criston Cole, also said this about shooting at Bourne:
"I don't want to spoil anything but there is an absolute beast of an episode and some of it was filmed at Bourne Wood, where they filmed the opening sequence of Gladiator. For weeks, it was me, Freddie Fox, who plays Ser Gwayne Hightower (Alicent's brother) at the heart of it with (director) Alan Taylor, Ryan (Condal, showrunner). On many occasions, I remember thinking 'I'll never get to do anything like this again'."
“Are You Not Entertained?”
It’s interesting that Gladiator should be mentioned as the inspiration for the location of Rook’s Rest as well, because in the same week that the episode released, Paramount Pictures had decided to drop the first trailer for the Gladiator sequel starring Paul Mescal:
What’s more, the movie also stars Pedro Pascal, who had played Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones. Though he only did appear for one season, his performance was considered to be so charismatic it immediately opened doors for him to star in series like The Mandalorian and The Last of Us.
It’s worth mentioning that Oberyn also dies in a gladiator-style arena with onlookers watching him fight to the death with the Mountain. It’s doubtful that his death is going to be as bloody in Gladiator II, but fans are expecting it to be the height of box office drama.
What’s Left This Season?
Going back to House of the Dragon, fans are left wondering what other huge setpiece could be in store for the rest of the season. Usually the series saves a huge chunk of the budget for one big battle scene and several smaller-scale episodes, but with only eight episodes expected this season, there’s definitely plenty of room for the series to add one more spectacular dragon fight.
For now, fans think the series is headed toward a clash between Daemon and Aemond. Aemond already has 2-0 on the Blacks and Daemon is currently hiding away in Harrenhal getting nightmares. Hopefully before the season end we get the awaited clash between the best dragon riders of each side and have a build up to even more houses joining the conflict.
Catch new episodes of House of the Dragon Sunday nights on Max.