10+1 fantasy movies that were shot in Hungary

Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a 2008 American superhero film based on the fictional character Hellboy, created by Mike Mignola. The film was written and directed by Guillermo del Toro from a story by him and Mignola and is a sequel to the 2004 film Hellboy, which del Toro also directed. The film was the first American production to shoot at Korda Studios in Hungary.

Underworld (the film that shows vampires’ and werewolves’ ancient fight in modern times, far before Twilight) was shot in the fall of 2002, the sequel (Underworld: Evolution) made in late 2004, mostly in Budapest. In addition to the Mafilm studio, mostly the subway tunnels and subways of Budapest received a major role due to the story, but Gozsdu courtyard, one favorite spot of the foreign filmmakers also appears in a few scenes.

Hercules is a 2014 American adventure film directed by Brett Ratner. It stars Dwayne Johnson, Ian McShane, Joseph Fiennes, and John Hurt. The film is based on the novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars. It was released in the United States on July 25, 2014. The film was shot in Hungary, in villages near Budapest, in Páty and Pilisszentiván, in collaboration with Origo Film Studios.

The Raven is a 2012 American mystery crime thriller film directed by James McTeigue, written by Ben Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare, and produced by Marc D. Evans, Trevor Macy, and Aaron Ryder. Starring John Cusack, Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson, and Luke Evans. Both Evans, who hails from Wales, and Australian McTeigue, known for his film “V for Vendetta”, we’re eager to visit Baltimore for the first time. McTeigue said he had researched Baltimore scenes for the film, but the film was shot in Budapest, Hungary, because of the older architecture.

47 Ronin is a 2013 American fantasy action film directed by Carl Rinsch (directorial debut). The screenplay was written by Chris Morgan and Hossein Amini, from a story by Morgan and Walter Hamada, based on the book Chushingura (“The Treasury of Loyal Retainers”). 47 Ronin, a fictionalized account of a real-life set in 18th century Japan. The film, starring Keanu Reeves and Sanada Hiroyuki, has nothing to do with the original Terrell epic, but is instead set in “a world of witches and giants”. It was filmed at Origo Film Studios in Rákospalota.

Eragon is a 2006 fantasy adventure film based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Paolini. Edward Speleers stars in the title role and his first film role, with Jeremy Irons, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, Djimon Hounsou, and John Malkovich.The film is directed by debutant Stefen Fangmeier, who was previously responsible for the visual effects on “The Tide of Misfortun” and “Captain and Soldier: On the Other Side of the World”. The script was written by Peter Buchman, best known for his involvement in the script for “Jurassic Park III”.

The filming of Eragon began in Hungary at Mafilm Studio in Fót on August 1, 2005. The special visual effects and animation were created by Weta Digital and Industrial Light & Magic.

Fallen is a 2016 American romantic fantasy drama film directed by Scott Hicks, based on Lauren Kate’s 2009 novel of the same name. The film stars Addison Timlin, Jeremy Irvine, Harrison Gilbertson, and Joely Richardson. Pre-production started in September 2013, while recordings began in February 2014 in Budapest, Hungary, recordings were spread over 7 months of recordings, 5 months of tape recordings, and 3 months of voice recordings, later the film had been finished in April 2016, the film was two years in pre-production.

Origo Film Studios in Budapest was chosen for the film’s production, work on the “angels” flight scenes and the construction of some planes of exterior areas, in the studios, could be analyzed and viewed detail the elaboration and the final work before the introduction of the special effects.

After the change of producers, the director Scott Hicks began the search of the set, the chosen place was the European country of Hungary; approximately 2 km from the capital of Hungary was the place chosen to begin the recordings but were different places where Dark was recorded, the first was Tura Castle, would be the main enclosure that would conform to Sword & Cross, together with the castle Wenckheim-kastély (Szabadkígyós) also located in Hungary, the library would be another enclosure apart where they were filmed, the three buildings formed the reformatory. Subsequently, the filming date had been established at the beginning of September but was delayed until February 9, 2014, in Budapest.

The Witcher is a 2019 Polish-American-Hungarian fantasy-drama television series created for Netflix by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich and based on the book series of the same name by Andrzej Sapkowski. The first season of the series, consisting of eight episodes, became available on Netflix on December 20, 2019.

Before its release, the creators announced that the series had been ordered for another eight-episode season, which is expected to premiere on December 17, 2021.Set in a fictional medieval world, the series follows the stories of Geralt of Rivia, a lone monster hunter, Yennefer of Vengerberg, a powerful enchantress, and Ciri, a Cintrian princess, who discover they are bound together by a common destiny.

The directors used the capital city of Hungary as a primary location for all the interiors in the series. That is also where the main filming studio was located. The most recognizable landmark in the series is Vajdahunyad Castle and the Castle of Tata.

Shadow and Bone is an American fantasy streaming television series developed by Eric Heisserer for Netflix that premiered on April 23, 2021. It is based on two series of books in the Grishaverse created by American author Leigh Bardugo: her trilogy, the first of which is Shadow and Bone (2012); and the duology that begins with Six of Crows (2015).

All eight episodes of the first season premiered on April 21, 2021, adapting Shadow and Bone and an original storyline featuring the Crows. In June 2021, the series was renewed for a second season also consisting of eight episodes, adapting Siege and Storm (2013) and another original storyline featuring the Crows.

The vast bulk of filming took place in historical sites in Budapest, Hungary’s capital, and its surrounding areas, with the production lasting from October 2019 until March 2020 – just before pandemic restrictions first came into practice.

They filmed major parts at ORIGO Studios in Budapest.

Dune is a 2021 American sci-fi film directed by Denis Villeneuve. Based on the 1965 novel of the same name by Frank Herbert. It was produced by Denis Villeneuve, Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, and Joe Caracciolo Jr. and written by Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, and Eric Roth. The film stars Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, and Stellan Skarsgård and was composed by Hans Zimmer. The film is produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

The film will premiere at the 78th Venice Film Festival on September 3, 2021, and will have its theatrical release in the United States on October 22, 2021. The film will debut simultaneously on the HBO Max streaming service. The movie was filmed in Hungary in Budapest, with Origo Studios but part of the cast had to come back for additional shootings.

Wild Witch is a children’s/juvenile fantasy novel series published by Danish-born writer, Lene Kaaberbøl, from 2011 to 2014. The six-part series had its first four novels translated into English by Charlotte Barslund in 2016. A Danish feature film, Wild Witch, based on the series was released in 2018. The stories center on Clara, a 12-year-old, who has a love of animals and nature. She struggles to become a wild witch and encounters deadly enemies, Chimera and Bravita Bloodline.

On October 11, 2018, the film version of Wild Witch was issued in Denmark. It was released to streaming services on February 14, 2020. Director Kaspar Munk also worked on the script with Poul Berg and Bo Hansen. Filming had started in May 2017 on location in Hungary.