Filming Locations Guide: Where was Wonder Woman filmed? The Themyscira Island location

Posted by Ra Moon

Would you like to visit the legendary Themyscira Island? Wonder Woman was entirely filmed in Italy and England.

The scenes taking place on the gorgeous island were shot in Italy, in contrast with the dark human world set in the First World War, filmed in England.

The Wonder Woman film came packed with a huge amount of locations, up to 38 according to location manager Charles Somers. Diana’s quest, princess warrior of the Amazons, starts when a plane dives into the azure waters of her marvelous home island.

Wonder Woman locations

The cast is led by Gal Gadot (who already played this role in Batman v Superman) and Chris Pine as Steve Trevor (Captain Kirk from Star Trek Beyond). This is the first superhero blockbuster directed by a woman, Patty Jenkins.

Here is our complete guide to the filming locations of the 2017 movie - you can also find our wonderful report with all the locations where the new Wonder Woman 1984 was filmed following this link.

The Real Location of Themyscira Island

Themyscira Island location
Most of the outdoor scenes in Themyscira were filmed in the south of Italy.

Diana Prince's home island’s scenery was made using lots of CGI, but it is basically inspired by the Cilento Coast in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros


Wonder Woman beach
The production planned to film near the Natural Arch of Palinuro, but the local authorities considered that the area was unsafe.

The cliffs were added digitally for the scenes on the beach, filmed between the towns of Palinuro and Camerota in Spiaggia di Capogrosso, Mingardo, and Cala d’Arconte.


Wonder Woman City in Themyscira
The scenes from the Amazons' city were filmed in Matera (Basilicata), a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Pictured, the square and church of San Pietro Caveoso during filming, after and before applying digital effects.

The Italian city was also one of the main locations where No Time to Die was filmed.


Amazons training scene
The grounds where the Amazons fight and train are located in a small valley situated near Matera.

Visual effects supervisor Alex Wuttke pointed out that Matera was used as a template for how the architecture of the Amazon's city would be hewn from the living rock.


Where is Wonder Woman island
Themyscira is a collage of landscapes inspired by places located all around the world.

These include the islets of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, the mountains of China’s De Hang region of Guangxi, and the Tajo de Ronda Bridge in Spain (pictured to the left in the upper picture, and the real bridge in the image beneath).
Image courtesy of Warner Bros and Klomiz


Themyscira Balcony
Queen Hippolyta's spectacular balcony overlooking the ocean was filmed at Villa Cimbrone, in Ravello, a lovely manor and gardens perched in this small town over the Amalfi Coast.

This same location was also featured as the Tenet house in Italy in Christopher Nolan's 2020 film.


Wonder Woman Island
The Armoury tower where the Godkiller sword is kept was filmed in the courtyard of Castel del Monte near Bari, in the Apulia region.

The unique octagonal design of this 13th-century Castle is printed on the reverse of the one cent Italian euro coins.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros and Paolo Macorig


The Island of Themyscira set
Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden served as the base for the film’s production. This is the same set used to film Zack Snyder's Justice League movie.


Wonder Woman Filming Locations

Diana Gallery in France
The film opens with an exterior shot of Diana in the Louvre Museum in Paris, where she works as the curator for the Department of Antiquities.

However, the interior rooms were recorded at the British Museum in London.


Turkish army fortress
The Tilbury Fort in Essex doubled as the secret military installation in the Ottoman Empire, where German General Erich Ludendorff (played by Danny Huston) and Dr. Maru (Elena Anaya) are working on a new weapon.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros and Google Maps


Capt Steve Trevor and Diana in London
Diana and Steve arrive by boat in 1918 London, sailing under Tower Bridge. However, the location by the river where they are landing is actually a bit far from the shore: this scene of the bustling city was filmed at Old Square in Holborn.

The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral was CGI'd into the background of Stone Buildings street.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros and Frank V


Diana goes shopping at Selfridge
The duo meets Steve Trevor's secretary, Etta Candy (played by Lucy Davis) in the Selfridge & Co department store.

The interior is the building of the High Commission of Australia in London, also known as the Australian House.

When they leave, the revolving door scene was filmed at Victoria House in Bloomsbury Square Garden.

Then Diana and Steve walk down the street where a bunch of spies are stalking them. This is Sicilian Avenue, located on one side of the square.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros and Google Maps


Supreme War Council building
The Supreme War Council building with a magnificent staircase was filmed at One Great George Street.

This mid-1880s domed edifice in Westminster is available for public events like conferences and weddings.


Old Paddington Station
The production closed down two platforms in King's Cross Station and got a period 1940 vintage train to film the scene at Paddington Station.


Wonder Woman drehort
The scene in which the ship at the dock is boarded was recorded at the Tilbury-Gravesend Ferry terminal, enhanced with a lot of digital effects.

The arrival on the Belgian coast was filmed near St Margaret of Antioch Church in Lower Halstow (Kent).


Veld Belgium
The sequence where the fictional Belgian village of Veld becomes a battlefield was entirely built on a huge set at the Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden.

To take a sniper down, Diana smashes the town's church bell tower. Was it necessary? The relieved villagers seem very happy to get rid of the soldier and start to cheer up the Amazon, even though an iconic section of their architectural heritage has just been crushed into ashes. (⊙⊙)


Gal Gadot on a horse in the forest
The Bourne Woods in Farnham, Surrey, is a very popular location when a production needs to film forest scenes.


Behind the scenes
The exterior of the Belgian chateau, where the German High Command gala takes place, is the imposing Arundel Castle in West Sussex.


Wonder Woman House
However, the interior was filmed at the Long Gallery of Hatfield House in Hertfordshire.

This manor has been used in many movies and TV shows. The stately home is one of the 2020 Rebecca movie locations. It was also featured in the BBC and FX series Trust, and Tom Hardy's black drama Taboo.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros and Esther Westerveld


Behind the scenes
Ludendorff's army airbase is the former RAF Upper Heyford base near Bicester in Oxfordshire.

Some filming also took place at the Royal Air Force station in Halton (Buckinghamshire). These could be the scenes in the gas-making chambers, but we can't confirm this.

The final victory celebration was filmed back in London, at Trafalgar Square.

Can you help to improve this article about the filming locations of Wonder Woman? To complete and correct this report, any feedback, info, or images that you may have are more than welcome, thank you!

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5 comments:

1- Anonymous - June 2, 2017 at 4:20 AM
For the last image, the location you're looking for is the Long Gallery at Hatfield House, England - the gold ceiling is very distinctive! See:
http://www.britainexpress.com/images/attractions/editor/Hatfield-5449-s.jpg

2- Anonymous - September 16, 2017 at 2:13 PM
I'm sure Raf Halton was also used in the gas-making chambers.

3- Abigail - January 8, 2020 at 5:52 PM
I live a ten-minute walk from the Bourne woods and always immediately recognize them when I see them in movies. The first war scene in Gladiator was shot there among many, many other movies. It's a beautiful place and great for dog walking!

4- Anonymous - April 7, 2021 at 5:13 PM
This must be the most spectacular filmed set I have seen in a long time. Thank man who can create such beautiful spaces and make them so real. In the old days, carpenters took pride in their work and it was shown to people for centuries, today they are just boards slap together and if it holds, they call it home.


5- Anonymous - Mar 12, 2023, 4:16 AM
I would like to know what building in Paris Wonder Woman jumps/flies off at the very end of the 2017 movie. It could be the bell tower of Notre Dame, but I am not sure what was CGI'd and what wasn't. Maybe the place that scene was shot wasn't even in Paris.


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