Game Of Thrones might feature a ton of sex and nudity on a regular basis, but on the whole, Lena Headey’s Cersei Lannister has mostly stayed above the fray. She’s wielded power in far different, far less overtly sexual ways, but on the upcoming season, fans will finally get to see the vindictive, villainous and weirdly enchanting mother strip down, at least if the Croatian authorities get their acts together.
The problem is one of permits and the local church. Game Of Thrones is currently shooting in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Producers have already gotten permission and the necessary permits to shoot everything they need, except for one scene that involves Cersei Lannister getting naked outside. The rest of the world might be dying to see that, but the local and extremely powerful Church Of St. Nicholas is apparently not so excited. According to TMZ, Church Officials told the film commission not to give out the permits, and the film commission listened.
As of right now, there’s reportedly no solution reached. Basically, there are four options. First, the Game Of Thrones people get as charming as possible and convince the local church that seeing Cersei’s boobs will bring so much happiness to people that it’s worth making an exception. Second, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss could decide to give Cersei small, flesh-colored underwear and shoot from angles that would obscure the actual nudity. Third, they could spend a whole bunch of money flying everyone involved to a different, more nudity-friendly location that would allow the scene to be shot unedited. Or fourth, it could be completely cut from the new season.
To explain why certain choices are more likely than others, we’re gonna have to get into SPOILERS. So, if you don’t want to know anything more, please bail on this article immediately.
The scene in question is the big moment when Cersei finally gets her cummupance. She is forced to take a Penance Walk, completely naked, across King’s Landing. It’s one everyone involved has been planning for, and it’s one fans of the books have been especially pumped about. In fact, one of the reasons why Cersei has remained so clothed over the years is because actress Lena Headey wanted the Penance Walk to be that much more shocking.
As a result, cutting the scene completely seems completely out of the question. Given the show’s popularity, I would guess heading to another location would probably be the most likely option, but I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see. It’s unlikely other parts of Croatia would have different reactions to an American show wanting a naked woman to film outside.
We’ll keep you updated.
