Game of Thrones Showrunners Preview Red Viper vs. Mountain Fight

The latest episode of Game of Thrones, entitled "Mockingbird," set up the fight between Oberyn, aka The Red Viper, and The Mountain in the next installment of Season 4. Tyrion demanded a trial by combat, and Cersei chose the hulking death machine as her champion. Oberyn, who wants revenge on the Mountain for killing his sister, pledged to be Tyrion's champion.

In an interview with EW.com, showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff preview the fight and they don't mince words.

"It's one of the best - if not the best - combat scenes we've done so far," Weiss said. "It's not just people hacking at each other with spears and swords. It's the culmination of 20 years of anger and hatred and thirst for vengeance coming to a head in this amazing set piece that [stunt coordinator Paul Herbert and swordmaster C.C. Smiff] have put together. The fight delivers beyond our expectations."

Plus, Tyrion's life is on the line. "And there's that," Weiss said. "One of the most important characters in the show will live or die based on this fight."

The show actually recast the role of The Mountain for a third time for Season 4 due to this fight scene, and 420-pound Icelandic strongman competitor Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson stepped into the role.

"It's one of those fights that from the very beginning of the process of planning the show before season one we knew would be a high point if done properly," Weiss said. "And it's a real challenge because The Mountain is The Mountain - you need to find an enormous human being who can also deliver what you need on physical front. And you need an Oberyn who delivers what you need as an actor and pull off the extremely strenuous side of that fight, which we shot over several days. We were lucky to find Pedro Pascal for Oberyn, who gives such a stunning, fun, and dangerous performance. And Hafþór for The Mountain is a truly unusual specimen - I believe he's the third-strongest man in the world and a former basketball player, so he knows how to move. To see somebody who is 6′ 9″ and moving the way he does in person is a surreal sight to behold."

Are you excited for this fight scene? Who do you think will win? Let us know in the comments below.