'The King' Director David Michôd Responds to Accusations He Copied Scene From 'Game of Thrones'

There are few scenes in TV history more memorable than the big fight in Season 6's "Battle of the Bastards” from Game of Thrones. The intensity of Jon Snow almost being crushed by Ramsay Bolton's troops is forever burned into the memory of millions of GoT fans… which is slightly unfortunate for director David Michôd.

Radio Times reports that in Michôd’s latest film, The King, starring Timothée Chalamet, Joel Edgerton, and Robert Pattinson, a major focus is the Battle of Agincourt, which saw a small army of English soldiers fight a heinous battle against the much larger French army.

Michôd told the publication before the film was released that he wanted the battle to feel devastatingly “human” and “claustrophobic,” much like Agincourt was. He also stated that very little machinery would be used in the production, explaining, “We know that we’re not putting it on a drone. We’re not throwing it up at a giant crane.”

The result was a scene in The King that is pretty much identical to the iconic GoT battle. Fans were very quick to notice, calling Michôd out on social media for copying the franchise. Though they are very similar, the director states it was unintentional, explaining:

“No, that was an accident. Weirdly, the only Game of Thrones I’ve seen is the final episode. For some reason, I put myself through the abstract exercise of sitting and watching that. It didn’t make me want to go back and watch the rest. But I did watch the 'Battle of the Bastards,' try and work out, just with regard to visual effects, how to put the thing together. So I can’t claim to have not seen that scene, but it was so completely unintentional.”

To see for yourself if you believe the similarities were accidental, you can watch The King, now streaming on Netflix.