Game of Thrones’ Miguel Sapochnik teases the epic Battle of Winterfell

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

After letting us catch our breath and enjoy a few long-awaited character moments, Game of Thrones will be throwing us right into the shit as the Battle of Winterfell is due to kick off in just two days. We've previously heard how the battle between the Army of the Living and the Army of the Dead is expected to be the "most sustained action sequence ever made for television or film," and director Miguel Sapochnik spoke with Entertainment Weekly to spill a few more details on what's sure to be an epic, and heart-wrenching, episode.

The Game of Thrones veteran is no stranger to epic battles, having previously helmed episodes such as "Hardhome" and "Battle of the Bastards," but this episode would be bigger than anything Miguel Sapochnik had done before. "I’ve been working on it since June of 2017. I’m shooting for seven and a half months, which is like 130 days, which is longer than most of the big movies that get made," Sapochnik said. "So in terms of the amount of work, it’s been six- and seven-day weeks, 16-to-18 hour days and, yeah, it’s a lot." In preparation for the sequence, Sapochnik watched the Battle of Helms Deep from THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS.

For my reference point I watched [The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers] because the siege is a 40-minute sequence, but it’s actually three different battles in three different places intercut. That was the biggest thing I could think of that was contemporary. I was trying to get a sense of when do you tire out. I think we’re going to blow past that. It feels like the only way to really approach it properly is take every sequence and ask yourself: “Why would I care to keep watching?” One thing I found is the less action — the less fighting — you can have in a sequence, the better. We also switch genres. There’s suspense and horror and action and drama and we’re not stuck in killing upon killing because then everybody gets desensitized and it doesn’t mean anything.

Sapochnik described the Battle of Winterfell as "survival horror," but on a grander scale since there are so many characters to keep track of. "What we realized is you look at like Assault on Precinct 13 — movies where a group is under siege — usually there’s an ensemble cast and a central theme in there. So I’ve been trying to work out whose story this is. That’s different than the stuff I’ve done previously which was generally from Jon’s perspective," Sapochnik explained. "Here I’ve got 20-some cast members and everyone would like it to be their scene. That’s complicated because I find the best battle sequences are when you have a strong point of view, and here the point of view is objective even when you go from one person’s story to another. Because when you’re cutting back and forth, [the perspective] becomes objective whether you want it to or not. I keep thinking, “Whose story am I telling right now? And what restrictions does that place on me that become a good thing?" Game of Thrones returns to HBO this Sunday. Hold on to your butts.