Game of Thrones is one of the biggest shows on television in multiple senses of the word. It's hugely popular, watched by millions across the globe.
It's also big in a budgetary sense. Depicting all those massive battles and giant dragons doesn't come cheap, and the show's budget seems to have only increased with each passing season as the stakes and battles get ever larger. The show's crew is massive, and wherever the show goes to film, it brings with it huge amounts of money to local economies.
Of all the show's filming locations, Northern Ireland is among the most prominent. Northern Ireland represents "the North" in the world of Game of Thrones, a major region that is home to many of the show's main characters. The show spends up to six months each season filming in the area, in large part because of a European Regional Development fund. The fund exists to create economic growth in the EU, and it's something from which Game of Thrones has long drawn as the show's budget has continued to blossom.
That could all be changing now thanks to Brexit, the recently-voted-on decision for the United Kingdom to leave the EU. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom (for now), and that means big budget productions that flock to the location to film will no longer be able to draw from the European Regional Development Fund now that the UK is separating from the EU.
The Guardian reports that Northern Ireland's tourist industry has grown thanks to the local film industry in the region. It also reports that Northern Ireland has received almost £2.5 billion in last EU funding round, and was set to receive £2 billion before 2020. That money flowing into the region will now vanish.
It's not a good situation for Northern Ireland or Game of Thrones. The two have shared a mutually-beneficial relationship for more than six years now, but it remains to be seen how much of an issue Brexit will truly cause for HBO's hit show. As the UK begins the long process of becoming fully independent of the EU, it's possible some kind of fund could be created from which local filmmakers in the country could draw.
Whatever happens, it's unlikely Game of Thrones will choose not to film in Northern Ireland. The landscape there is an essential part of the show at this point, so even if it costs more to film there than in past years, it seems unthinkable that showrunners would "recast" the location of Winterfell. The more likely scenario is that the show's budget will simply shrink, which means less elaborate battles and fewer special effects moving forward.
HBO has yet to comment on Brexit and what it may mean for the show. Game of Thrones is currently about to finish its sixth season, with at least two more seasons expected to come.
Via: Brobible
