Where was Aquaman filmed? Filming Locations in Italy & Amnesty Bay in Maine

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Aquaman takes place after the events of Justice League. The action-packed film, based on the classic character from DC Comics, focuses on the quest of the underwater superhero to reluctantly claim the Throne Of Atlantis.

The movie is partially set in Italy and the fictional town of Amnesty Bay, Maine. Aquaman was primarily filmed in Australia's Gold Coast of Queensland.

The director with the cast of Aquaman

The production was based at Village Roadshow Studios, but some filming also took place in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Morocco.

The mighty Kingdom of Atlantis is similar to Marvel's Wakanda in Black Panther. The undersea metropolis is an advanced civilization, hidden -until now- from human society. Also, both movies feature a fight for the throne.

Where was Aquaman filmed

The blockbuster stars Hawaiian actor Jason Momoa (who became a celebrity after playing the role of Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones). Amber Heard (The Rum Diary, The Danish Girl) plays Mera, his adventure companion and daughter of King Nereus.

Nicole Kidman portrays the wet superhero mom and Willem Dafoe is Nuidis Vulko, Arthur Curry's mentor.


Aquaman temple in ruins in Italy

Director James Wan (Fast and Furious 7, The Conjuring, Saw) commented on social networks that 'If casting is half of your directing, then location is half of your photography'.

Wan also added in an interview that his vision of the film is to take the viewer on a big adventure, traveling from a place to another, mixing the spirit of Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and even 1984's Romancing the Stone.

This is the last guide to Aquaman’s filming locations that you will ever need. Now let’s get started:

Where was Aquaman filmed?

Aquaman lighthouse Location
Amnesty Bay is Arthur Curry's hometown in Massachusetts, where his father raised him.

The crew built the lighthouse (without the top of it, as you can see in the image) on location at the lookout of the spectacular cape Hastings Point (New South Wales).
(You can open all the locations on Google Maps by clicking on the links below in the captions ↴)
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. - Map


Beach fight in Australia with CGI
You may wonder where the cool beach with impressive rock formations in the background is located. Just like Wonder Woman's Themyscira Island, everything was added digitally in post-production.

The scene set in Casablanca with camels was filmed on Currumbin Beach, south of the city of Gold Coast.
Images courtesy of Warner Bros. - Map


Amber Heard as Mera in Amnesty Bay set
The set of Amnesty Bay, including some buildings (The Fish Co-Op, the Sunken Galleon restaurant), was built just before Sea World in Main Beach (Southport).

Some underwater scenes near the shore were filmed at Amity Point in North Stradbroke Island, Moreton Bay.

Where have I heard this name before? Amity Island is the fictional location where Jaws is set.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. - Map


Boat sequence shot in a soundstage
A substantial part of the movie was filmed in the backlot, water tanks, and sound stages of Village Roadshow Studios.

Many shows and movies have been filmed here in the last few years, including Godzilla vs. Kong the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean, installment, Thor Ragnarok, or Kong: Skull Island.

Two-thirds of the film takes place underwater, making things more complicated for the team, requiring a lot of blue screens and CGI.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. - Map


Where in Sicily was Aquaman filmed
The sequence taking place in Italy was meant to be filmed in the beautiful village of Erice in Sicily (lower picture).

The production had announced the shooting to the press, but it was canceled for financial reasons. Apparently, it was too expensive to move the cast and crew to Italy for a scene that could be done in the studios.

Anyway, Erice seems to be a clear inspiration for the Italian town that we see in the movie.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. and Jb Dodane - Map


Aquaman drehort
Even if Erice is not a coastal town, its castle and cobbled streets seem to be the clear inspiration for the Italian town that we see in the movie.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. and Anna and Michal


Morocco desert dunes
There is very little info available about the production in Morocco, but the Moroccan Cinematographic Center confirmed on its website that Aquaman was filmed in the country for about six weeks in Erfoud, Merzouga, Ouarzazate (home of Atlas Studios), and Marrakech.

Merzouga is a remote oasis town close to the border with Algeria with monumental sand dunes and amazing views over the Sahara desert.
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. - Map


Can you help to improve this article about the shooting locations of Aquaman? 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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3 comments:

Anonymous - January 16, 2019 at 4:35 AM
1- What scenes were filmed in Newfoundland in the movie Aquaman?

Anonymous - February 12, 2019 at 12:28 PM
2- Do you know, which casting agency was used for this movie in Australia? Thank you!

Anonymous - Jan 7, 2024, 11:20 AM
3- I also recognized the piazza in Taormina in Sicily.

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