Where Was Netflix’s ‘Interceptor’ Filmed?

The new Netflix movie Interceptor, which began streaming on Friday, takes place almost entirely in a classified location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The reason is for that is the film’s protagonist, JJ (played by Elsa Pataky), is an Army captain of one of two U.S. military “interceptor” bases, whose mission is to shoot down any nuclear missiles that Russia might decide to launch at the U.S.

Directed by Matthew Reilly, with a screenplay co-written by Reilly and Stuart Beattie, Interceptor packs in all the patriotic, ass-kicking action you might expect from a military action movie. The movie was also executive produced by Marvel star and Pataky’s husband, Chris Hemsworth, who brought on Extraction director Sam Hargrave as a stunt coordinator.

But while interceptor bases are a real thing in the U.S. military, Interceptor was not, in fact, filmed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Read on to learn about the actual Interceptor filming location for the Netflix movie.

WHERE WAS INTERCEPTOR FILMED?

Interceptor was filmed in New South Wales, Australia.

In an interview for the Interceptor press notes, Australian actor Aaron Glenane said he was thrilled to film in his home country. “I love the idea that Interceptor could be kicking off this notion that we can make big action movies in Australia by Australians with Australians,” Glenane said. “It’s an exciting time for the industry.”

Much of the movie takes place in a small set that serves as the military base in the Pacific where JJ is stationed. There were two main areas to the set, the command center and tunnels of SBX-1. In the same interview, Ross Emery, the director of photography, explained the challenges of diversifying such a small set.

“We felt it was important to have significantly different looks for our sets,” Emery said. “If we only used a single look for the entire film, it would have become quite fatiguing. We were really keen to keep accelerating the action and we achieved this by changing the lighting. By using different contrasts, colors, and levels, we were able to reference changing states of play.”

So there you have it—movie magic!