A little bit of season 3 news is dribbling out in fits and starts, and this time we’ve a bit of news regarding directors for season 3. Contrary to an earlier interview, director and co-executive producer Alan Taylor—who directed “The Prince of Winterfell” and “Valar Morghulis” this season—will not be returning to direct for season 3.
We heard about this a couple of months ago, with the suggestion at the time being that the interview item that suggested otherwise perhaps being a misstatement or misunderstanding by the interviewer (given that that detail is not a direct quote), but it seems that it’s now okay to say as much. Taylor’s simply too busy with Thor 2—which I believe starts filming in August—and at a guess, that’s going to likely rule him out for filming next season as well, as post-production on that will still be under way ahead of its scheduled November 2013 release date. Theoretically they could squeeze in an episode for him at the end of the shooting schedule, presuming it keeps the typical
On the other hand, we have learned that taking up the reins of final episode direction will be David Nutter, who will apparently be set to film the last two episodes of season 3 with the help of cinematographer Robert McLachlan according to this report. Nutter directed “The Old Gods and the New” and “A Man Without Honor” this season.
On a separate note, yes, the Creative Cow piece mentions Morocco as a shooting location. As you’ll recall, Morocco was the location of the pilot shoot before it was reshot in Malta. I’d guess this is an error on their part, although it’s not impossible that the site has that news from McLachlan himself, perhaps, if he or his representatives were the source for their story. That said, Iceland is definitely on the schedule this season… but will it be on the schedule for the last two episodes of the season? It’s not impossible they’ll have moved the story back to the southern regions of the lands beyond the Wall, which were represented by the forests of Northern Ireland.
So, is it impossible Morocco may be on board this year? Not entirely. Could be an error, or could be a hint of where they may largely be shooting Daenerys’s next story. I’m told David and Dan are basically hard to get a hold of because they’re busy scouting locations, for what that’s worth…