In the Lost Lands Filming Locations: Where was the Dave Bautista starrer epic fantasy film shot?

In the Lost Lands is going to be the latest adaptation of a George R R Martin narrative. So, the excitement is over the roof for this new action-packed fantasy adventure film.

The project shows actress Milla Jovovich returning to work with her real-life partner and frequent collaborator, filmmaker Paul W. S. Anderson. They started working together with the first Resident Evil and continued collaborating for the latter chapters of the series. After projects like The Three Musketeers (2011) and Monster Hunter (2020), they are returning with yet another filmmaking collaboration.

In the Lost Lands shows Anderson directing and Jovovich acting in the lead role. She is joined by Dave Bautista, who has worked on high-budget franchises like Guardians of the Galaxy and Dune. Their new film has been adapted from George R R Martin's eponymous short story. Its official synopsis reads:

"A Queen sends the powerful and feared sorceress Gray Alys to the ghostly wilderness of the Lost Lands in search of a magical power, where the sorceress and her guide, the drifter Boyce, must outwit and outfight man and demon."

With the ever-changing nature of the film industry, the filming locations are moving beyond the usual places. In the same vein, director Paul W S Anderson made a creative decision. According to the reports, In the Lost Lands has been shot at Alvernia Studios in Poland. Let's dive right into his thoughts behind its filming location.

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Where was In the Lost Lands was shot? Details explored

The In the Lost Lands adaptation began as a plan in 2015. At the time, The Holywood Reporter reported that Mila Jovovich was set to star in this fantasy adventure project along with Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds). The shooting was supposed to take place in Germany. However, since then, there have been major changes in the adaptation plan.

Years later, filmmaking Paul W S Anderson came on board to direct this project with Jovovich to star in it, opposite Dave Bautista. The film eventually began its production in Poland. There are no confirmed reports of any real-life Polish locations being used for this film's shoot. However, Alvernia Studios has been confirmed as their shooting location, during an interview with Variety.

Director Paul W S Anderson shared some crucial details about the shoot while speaking with SFFGazette. He revealed that the George R R Martin adaptation was shot entirely against a blue screen. Here's what he said:

"We built some sets, but everything was shot in the studio...we spent a year building all of the backgrounds before we shot any of the foregrounds. Which meant that the director of photography knew exactly where the sun was gonna be."

He added some further insights into the new way of his production and why it made sense to him over filming on real-life locations:

"If we're doing an exterior, and the sun is kinda low to the horizon, and the sun in the virtual world is ten degrees above the horizon, he will stick his light ten degrees above the studio floor. I think it's a different way of working, but I think visually it's very, very powerful. I think on a go-forward basis a lot of big studio movies will be embracing the same kind of methodology."

Anderson further added:

"What we did was we built all the backgrounds in Unreal, which is a videogaming engine...I do think it's a radical methodology. Because no one's made a movie like this before. I think it's a whole new way of working that's much more cost-effective and ultimately delivers a better end-product than a lot of recent innovations like the Volume."

According to Variety, In the Lost Lands is one of the recent international projects shot in Poland besides Oscar-nominated A Real Pain and The Girl with the Needle. It reveals a recent change in the shooting locations. The Polish Film Institute encourages similar international projects in Poland, a country that is not just about “rich landscapes and architecture.”

In the same spirit, their statement reads:

“We have what’s most important: people. Skillful, English-speaking crews with a can-do attitude, inventive creators, and experienced producers. Nevertheless, we believe we haven’t reached the peak of our capabilities and we still have space and resources for further productions.”