The latest installment of “The Pendragon Cycle” production diaries takes the bull by the horns, literally, with an incredible bull dancing scene shot in Rome.
While filming episode 8, “The Pendragon Cycle” enters the arena with bulls and pushes the limits in the process. The behind-the-scenes footage, shown by Daily Wire co-founder and series director Jeremy Boreing on Thursday, reveals how much planning went into creating these epic scenes, including a strict focus on safety for all the actors and crew members involved in the shoot.
Boreing said the behind-the-scenes footage represents “one of the most incredible weeks of filming from the whole production.”
“Real people, leaping over real bulls, in character, no cables, and no CGI,” Boreing added.
I’m back from filming The Pendragon Cycle in Europe, and tomorrow we’re releasing the BTS of one of the most incredible weeks of filming from the whole production: the Bull Dancing scene.
I’m premiering it exclusively for @dailywireplus All Access members in a live Q&A…
— Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) February 15, 2024
Boreing answered questions about the episode and the series as a whole during the All Access live video for Daily Wire members on Thursday evening. In the behind-the-scenes video, Boreing explained how the production crew had been preparing for this moment ever since they announced the show was happening, knowing they’d be faced with shooting the bull dance.
“Part of their religion is having these people dance with bulls,” he said of the episode. He added that particular attention was paid to the camera angles so it didn’t feel like “sports coverage” or something that’s been seen before. Instead, the bull arena shots were meant to feel “visceral” and “like a movie.”
Production designer Renato Cseh said concrete walls had to be constructed for everyone’s protection. It was all completed on a tight five-week timeline. “When you have wild animals on the set, you have to be really careful,” Cseh explained.
Executive producer Dallas Sonnier called the episode, “the thing I have been waiting for the most.”
“Real Spanish bull leapers. They jump over actual dangerous wild bulls that will kill you in a second. They are not wearing wires, they are not wearing protective pads. These jumps are going to be 100% real,” he added as footage of the leapers practicing these death-defying leaps plays in the background.
Next, Sonnier showed the crates of bulls who will “gore you to death,” comparing their arrival to “a scene out of Jurassic Park.”
Boreing also discussed how time with each bull was limited because of how intelligent they are.
“After about 20 minutes, the bulls start to learn the tricks. These are very smart animals,” he explained. “That’s when things get particularly dangerous because the bull starts anticipating your moves.”
“Everyone told us we couldn’t do this,” Sonnier said of the incredible episode. “And yet here we are, and we did it.”
Coming in 2024, exclusively on DailyWire+. Based on the series by acclaimed Christian novelist Stephen R. Lawhead, The Pendragon Cycle is a unique retelling of the Arthurian legend, set not in the high Medieval age of knights in shining armor, but in the wake of a Roman-occupied Britain, where the seeds of Christianity are beginning to take root in the face of spiritual and physical darkness. As barbarian invaders threaten to lay claim to the Island of the Mighty, only those with faith in the True God will prevail.