Making a scene: 14 movies filmed right here in the UAE
Look ma, I’m on the big screen…
The combination of futuristic cityscapes, wild otherworldly desert expanses and a talented pool of filmmaking professionals living right here – it’s no wonder the UAE plays the starring role in the staging of so many big-screen stories.
These are just some of the most famous examples of the UAE, providing backdrops and stealing scenes.
14 of the best movies filmed in the UAE
Gran Turismo (2023)
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6 Underground
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Dune
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Furious 7
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Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)
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Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 (2023)
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Mission Impossible Fallout (2018)
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Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
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Star Trek Beyond
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Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
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Syriana
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The Misfits
Archie Madekwe (Finalized)
Gran Turismo
DUNE 2
Dune Part 2
This isn’t a true movie adaptation of the popular Sony game. It couldn’t be. The game doesn’t have a plotline and whilst you may argue that might actually have improved the Assassin’s Creed movie, we wouldn’t dare comment. It’s the story of how the Gran Turismo videogame changed a young man’s fortunes. This is the miraculous real-life tale of Jann Mardenborough (played by Archie Madekwe). Jann was an elite gamer, a Gran Turismo grandmaster who was recruited into a racing academy on a marketing exec’s (Danny Moore, played by Orlando Bloom) gut intuition that good gamers might make good drivers. It’s directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium) and the cast list includes Madekwe, Bloom, David Harbour, and Josha Stradowski. One of the movie’s key scenes is filmed right here in the Dubai Autodrome, faithfully retelling a turning point in Mardenborough’s career. We had the rare privilege of catching up with the cast during their time here, this is what they had to say…
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 (2023)
This seventh Mission: Impossible movie marks the third time the all-thrill-no-fill Tom Cruise vehicle has rolled into the UAE, and it’s an Abu Dhabi double dip. There are the scenes shot inside (and, slight spoiler, on top of) the stunning new Terminal A complex in Zayed International Airport, where the IMF team are trying to intercept the key to a terrifying advanced AI entity. Then there are the Rub’ al Khali ambush sequences where Ethan Hunt (Cruise) provides an extraction service for rogue agent Ilsa Faust.
Dune (2020) and Dune Part 2 (2024)
Come on down, the spice is right. The Dune series is director Denis Villeneuve’s interpretation of the classic Frank Herbert science fiction novel of the same name, and serves as a reboot to the popular 1984 movie. This time around, the cast is headed up by Timothée Chalamet, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, and Jason Momoa. The story follows Paul Atreides (Chalamet), a young man thrust into a power struggle on a distant planet, where two houses battle for control of the galaxy’s most precious resource, a ‘spice’ called Melange. The main location for the action is the desert planet of Arrakis played, rather nobly by Abu Dhabi’s Empty Quarter. The third instalment of the story is scheduled to hit screens late in 2026.
Star Trek Beyond (2016)
When the location scouts were searching for a futuristic cityscape to set the third installment of this sci-fi reboot saga, Dubai must have stuck out immediately. Its Tomorrowland architecture, fast cars, smart city credentials and Metro stations that look straight outta 3020 make it the perfect candidate for offering a glimpse of what’s to come. So much so, that while many of the scenes were digitally enhanced, we recognised countless locations. JLT, DIFC and the Burj Khalifa all star alongside the cast’s own big names, including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Idris Elba and Anton Yelchin.
Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)
This sequel to the hugely popular 2001 movie starring Will Smith, didn’t hit quite as well with the critics, but it is absolutely watchable if you let yourself embrace the fun of it all. As you might expect from a film that puts humanity on the brink of annihilation, there’s not a lot of happy imagery for planet Earth – Dubai’s big moment comes in the form of the Burj Khalifa being up-ended and used to shish kebab a section of London’s South Bank. Those aliens really did us dirty.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
6 Underground (2019)
There’s some pretty simple box-office arithmetic that goes into putting Michael Bay and Ryan Reynolds together. You know you’re going to get epic cinematography backed up by frantic action scenes and sassy dialogue, delivered with trademark Reynolds panache, which neatly sums up this particular high energy, super fun Netflix movie. And a lot of it was filmed right here in Abu Dhabi.
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)
We always knew the force was strong with Abu Dhabi, but did you know the planet of Jakku – where we first meet Rey (Daisy Ridley), the central protagonist of the Skywalker Star Wars Trilogy – is actually Abu Dhabi? Or at least that’s where those scenes were filmed. Star Wars is one of the biggest movie franchises of all time, so having your location immortalised as part of the saga is a pretty big deal. Abu Dhabi actually gets a name check in the movie too, during a conversation with companion Finn (John Boyega), Rey refers to a location called ‘Liwa Outpost’. A kestral run we can plug into our sat nav, and make in less than 12 parsecs.
Mission Impossible Fallout (2018)
OK, forgive us, this is a bit of a cop-out. Despite the movie racking up more destinations than a gap-year student with a trust fund, there’s only one scene filmed here in the UAE. And they used CGI to make it look like Paris. It’s during Ethan Hunt’s (Tom Cruise) ill-fated lightning-besieged HALO (high altitude, low opening) parachute jump. As an interesting bit of background, it took Cruise 106 jumps to get those precious few moments of screen time.
Furious 7 (2015)
Love them or hate them, Fast and Furious movies are a big deal at the box office. And the seventh installment of the franchise, Furious 7, takes some of its road rage out on the cinematic streets of our capital. In one of the more physics-defying scenes from a series known for playing fast and loose with the laws of nature, Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) take a Lykan Hypersport car and jump between the Jumeirah at Etihad Towers. Twice. This movie was sadly Paul Walker’s last, as he tragically passed away during filming. Impressive CGI rendering was used to fill in his final scenes to make for an emotional farewell.
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Race 3 (2018)
Race 3 was not the first and certainly won’t be the last of the big-budget Indian movies shot in Abu Dhabi. This explosive action flick has a cast list that includes Bollywood legends Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor and Bobby Deol. The story follows an uncle and nephew team, embroiled in the arms trade. They battle with ferocious competitors, betrayals and a dream to return to India safely. The movie was shot in six different locations in the capital, including Emirates Palace, W Abu Dhabi – Yas Island (at the time known as Yas Viceroy), the St Regis Abu Dhabi, the ADNEC, Emirates Steel and Liwa.
Syriana (2005)
This multi-layered, fractally-told political thriller was the first big Hollywood production to formally shoot in Dubai. And whilst the external scenes shot here provide the backdrop for a fictional Middle Eastern state (and given the subject matter, that’s a good thing) – we can still spot some unmistakable Dubai locations in the finished product. Syriana, written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, has an outstanding cast lead by George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, William Hurt, and Christopher Plummer and tells the story of a jilted US oil firm trying to balance its books with some shady dealings. Thoroughly worth a watch
The Misfits (2021)
The Misfits stars Academy-Award nominee Tim Roth and ex-007 lethal-licensee, Pierce Brosnan and is the story of a gentleman thief (shades of previous Brosnan project? The Thomas Crown Affair yes, but we’re down with that). It’s a twist on the classic heist movie and the entire thing was shot and produced in Abu Dhabi, under the guiding eye of Emirati movie ensemble, FilmGate Productions.
Images: Unsplash
