Where Were Prometheus and Alien: Covenant Filmed? Iceland, Dettifoss, Hekla and Behind the Scenes
Ridley Scott used Iceland to create much of the otherworldly exterior scenery in Prometheus (2012): Dettifoss waterfall appears in the opening, while the Hekla region and Dómadalsleið (F225) contributed landscapes for the alien world. The film also used Scotland and UK studios. Alien: Covenant (2017) turned instead to Milford Sound / Piopiotahi in New Zealand and large sets built in Australia. It matters to distinguish a location actually filmed from a landscape used as inspiration for later computer-generated effects.
| Film | Documented location | Screen use |
|---|---|---|
| Prometheus | Dettifoss, Iceland | Opening landscape |
| Prometheus | Hekla / Dómadalsleið F225, Iceland | Alien planet exteriors |
| Prometheus | The Storr, Isle of Skye, Scotland | Scottish location filming |
| Alien: Covenant | Milford Sound, New Zealand | Planet exteriors |
| Alien: Covenant | Sydney, Australia | Sound stages and large built sets |
The screen worlds begin with real scenery: Iceland’s dark volcanic fields, Scottish rock formations and a rain-soaked New Zealand fiord. Sets, costumes and digital effects complete the image. You can visit the waterfall or mountain landscape, although every element visible in the film will not necessarily exist at the destination.
Contents
- Prometheus in Iceland: what is documented?
- Iceland filming timeline: what the July 2011 record establishes
- Dettifoss: the waterfall seen in the prologue
- Hekla and Dómadalsleið F225: an alien landscape
- Why did the production relocate from Morocco to Iceland?
- Scotland: The Storr on the Isle of Skye
- UK studios and the practical world of Prometheus
- Alien: Covenant: Milford Sound in New Zealand
- Sydney: seven sound stages and Covenant sets
- What was filmed versus digitally extended?
- From Iceland to LV-223: constructing the on-screen landscape
- Authentic behind-the-scenes sources
- 117 Iceland production photographs in the Blu-ray archive
- A new Alien film: the position on 1 November 2026
- Planning a film-location visit to Iceland
- Read next
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
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Prometheus in Iceland: what is documented?
The Icelandic stage of Prometheus moved from the Hekla volcanic area and Dómadalsleið mountain road (F225) to Dettifoss. True North supported the production, while ICE-SAR helped with visitor information and temporary access arrangements.
News written during filming, photographs from the set and accounts by the filmmakers connect the screen landscapes with identifiable parts of Iceland that travellers can include in a trip.
Iceland filming timeline: what the July 2011 record establishes
On 11 July 2011, Vísir reported filming starting at the foot of Hekla and named Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace. Dettifoss was identified as a later location. On 17 July, Iceland Review described work along F225, expected to continue until 18 July, and restrictions on the waterfall approach on 21–22 July.
Visitors were offered a CD of professional photographs instead of taking their own pictures of the shooting. True North staff and ICE-SAR volunteers helped explain the temporary access arrangements.
Dated reports describe successive stages at Hekla, F225 and Dettifoss. They do not establish one undisputed final day for all filming in Iceland.
Two visual records survive from this period: Brigitte Lacombe’s cast portrait, made near Hekla on 18–19 July 2011, and a photograph of the cast and crew at Dettifoss in Iceland – Issues and Images 1/2012, p. 18, supplied by True North. Both differ from modern travel photographs.
The Charlize Theron portrait illustrating the 11 July Vísir report is credited to AFP. It is not documentation of her work on the Icelandic set.
On 20 July 2011, Vísir specified that the eastern branch road to Dettifoss would close, while the western approach on Route 862 remained open. True North’s Þór Kjartansson described the arrangements agreed with the tourism sector and national park.
Dettifoss: the waterfall seen in the prologue
Dettifoss lies on the Jökulsá á Fjöllum river in northeast Iceland. The national park gives a height of approximately 44–45 m and a width of 100 m. Its real wall of water and rocky banks form the landscape of the Prometheus opening sequence.
Following the 2025 landslide, investigations found extensive fractures on the west bank. On 28 May 2026 the park announced the permanent closure of Fosshvamm. The falls remain accessible from permitted areas, although an old viewpoint may no longer be on an open route. Read the park’s access announcement.
Before visiting, choose the specific car park on road 862 or 864 and check current trails on the Vatnajökull National Park website. Do not cross barriers in search of a film angle.
Hekla and Dómadalsleið F225: an alien landscape
Around Hekla and Dómadalsleið (F225), fields of volcanic material supplied the alien planet’s landscape. On 17 July 2011, Iceland Review described work on that road, scheduled to continue until the next day. The kilometre markers of individual shots are not established, and the full length of F225 was not one continuous film set.
Natural rock colours, dust and empty terrain became part of LV-223 through lighting, set design, editing and effects. For trip planning, see the Iceland Highlands guide and Iceland volcano guide. Highland roads have seasonal access rules.
Why did the production relocate from Morocco to Iceland?
In a behind-the-scenes account summarised by Iceland Naturally from Variety, executive producer Mark Huffam explained that security concerns interrupted plans to shoot exterior landscapes around Ouarzazate, Morocco. Ridley Scott, cinematographer Dariusz Wolski and production designer Arthur Max joined a rapid scout of Iceland. The Iceland shoot was organised in a short turnaround while the broader film was already under way.
The result demonstrates how a natural location becomes a deliberate visual choice: desert-based plans gave way to darker Icelandic highlands, while the final image still relied on art direction and postproduction.
Scotland: The Storr on the Isle of Skye
The Storr on the Isle of Skye is a documented Scottish location for Prometheus. In its 15 January 2012 account, Skye Guides described its own work on the winter shoot: difficult weather, helicopter logistics and cooperation with the production crew. The local guides also published photographs from the set.
Rannoch Moor and Glencoe appear in later location catalogues, without comparably specific evidence tying them to individual scenes. The Storr photographs record work in Scotland, not another Icelandic location.
UK studios and the practical world of Prometheus
Pinewood is the confirmed British studio for Prometheus. fxguide’s production account describes the sets built there and the combination of practical elements with digital effects.
Spacecraft interiors and vehicles belong to a world constructed for the film. A photograph of one of those sets does not mean that the entire structure stood beside an Icelandic waterfall.
Alien: Covenant: Milford Sound in New Zealand
Milford Sound / Piopiotahi in Fiordland National Park was a location for Alien: Covenant. The New Zealand Film Commission documents the shoot there in 2016. Rain, low clouds and steep rock walls gave the planet a different character from the Icelandic wilderness in Prometheus.
The NZ Film Commission reports approximately 300 New Zealand crew members and more than 450 production personnel accommodated locally. Around 86 drivers transported equipment between Te Anau and the set; 21 local workers helped the art and greens departments, and 28 locals worked as set assistants.
A physically constructed landing craft was taken to Milford Sound, rather than existing only as a digital addition. Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski also described how the fiord’s soft light and clouds informed the lighting of the Australian sets. These records concern New Zealand; they do not establish Icelandic location work for Covenant.
Sydney: seven sound stages and Covenant sets
In Ausfilm’s interview published on 31 May 2017, Fox Studios Australia’s Wayne Borg confirmed use of seven sound stages in Sydney and extensive sets at Potts Hill. The production occupied the studio from November 2015 to September 2016. This describes its use of the facilities, including preparation and subsequent work, rather than a period of continuous filming.
Adam Savage’s Tested report on the sets shows the practical craft involved. Watch it at the original publisher: the film’s interiors and rocky surfaces were not all natural locations.
Screen Global Production described a Covenant ship interior approximately 20 m long, mounted on a 40-tonne motion rig. Around 1,500 electrical circuits enabled practical controls to operate on camera. Separate large exterior sets were built at Potts Hill in western Sydney.
Janty Yates and Craig Green collaborated on costumes. Natural scenery, construction, working props, clothing and digital work came together as one screen world.
What was filmed versus digitally extended?
Wadi Rum in Jordan supplied reference photographs and HDR panoramas for Prometheus’s digital environments. This does not establish dramatic location filming with actors in Jordan. Askja in Iceland appears in later lists but lacks comparable confirmation from the production period.
A visit to a real place may therefore reveal scenery different from the finished frame. The film could combine rocks from one country, terrain from another and a digitally created horizon.
From Iceland to LV-223: constructing the on-screen landscape
In fxguide’s interview published on 13 June 2012, MPC’s Charley Henley described Icelandic ground and aerial photography alongside Jordanian reference material. The Engineer in the prologue was filmed as a practical character; the completed image combined photography with CGI.
Terrain elevation data, photographs and 3D models helped extend the landscape. Cockpit sections and other physical set elements were combined with digital assets and matched to the landscape’s light.
Modern photographs of Iceland and archived production footage consequently show different things: today’s scenery and the way filmmakers created the screen world.
“Ancient Aliens” in American Cinematographer, July 2012, p. 38, documents a Supertechno crane filming Noomi Rapace in Iceland and a vehicle-mounted Pursuit Crane tracking actors on ATVs. A separate photograph shows performers on wires during the storm scene; its caption does not automatically place that image in Iceland. The archival article remains copyrighted production documentation.
Authentic behind-the-scenes sources
- True North, Prometheus Behind the Scenes.
- True North, Official Making Of.
- AvPGalaxy, Prometheus behind-the-scenes gallery.
- AvPGalaxy, Prometheus Blu-ray extras inventory: includes a catalogue of 117 Iceland unit photographs.
- Adam Savage’s Tested, Alien: Covenant sets.
Two unusually well-attributed Iceland sources are Brigitte Lacombe’s cast portrait made near Hekla on 18–19 July 2011 and an archival Dettifoss photograph showing a film crane and crew. For Alien: Covenant, the New Zealand Film Commission’s gallery includes production photographs of Ridley Scott and the team working at Milford Sound.
117 Iceland production photographs in the Blu-ray archive
The collector’s Prometheus Blu-ray lists 117 photographs under “Unit Photography – Iceland” and a short film, “Location: Iceland”. It is an extensive record of the Icelandic production stage, distinct from modern travel photography.
AvPGalaxy’s galleries may contain overlapping collections and material belonging to different rights holders. Access to a gallery or disc does not grant permission to republish the photographs.
See the Blu-ray extras inventory, gallery catalogue and original Truenorth film. Watch the material at its original publication, alongside its captions.
A new Alien film: the position on 1 November 2026
As of 1 November 2026: in Borys Kit’s 23 October report for The Hollywood Reporter, Aaron Guzikowski was writing a screenplay, with Ridley Scott and Michael Pruss producing a new Alien film. THR linked the project to David and Scott’s prequels and described it as separate from the Romulus follow-up. The report said no director had been selected and Michael Fassbender was not involved.
Deadline’s 23 October report and TheWrap describe very early development. The sources reviewed contain no studio confirmation of a production greenlight or announced filming, locations, title or release date. They provide no basis for announcing a return to Iceland.
In an AlloCiné interview conducted on 25 August and published on 27 August 2026, Scott spoke about wanting to return to the story after Covenant. That expressed a direction he wanted to explore, rather than a cast contract or an approved final storyline.
On 14 October 2026, Brian Duffield told TheWrap that he had briefly helped the project over a holiday period but was neither writing nor directing the film.
Planning a film-location visit to Iceland
Dettifoss fits naturally into a visit to the northern Mývatn region, including the geothermal landscapes in the Hverir guide. Hekla and F225 lie in the southern interior, so they are not nearby stops on a short day trip. The route depends on season, road type and weather.
To visit the waterfall from the opening scene, use the Dettifoss visiting guide to compare the banks, roads 862 and 864, the walk to Selfoss and the viewpoints over Hafragilsfoss. Allow a separate northern Iceland stage for this visit.
NORTH ICELAND
Hverir: geothermal scenery near Mývatn
Access, parking and a visit to the Námaskarð geothermal field: a separate stop on a journey through northern Iceland.
Use the Iceland guide to plan the wider trip and OndaTravel film tourism for other screen locations. The articles about Halo in Iceland and Christopher Nolan’s films explore other ways these landscapes appear on screen.
Read next
For more screen locations, choose the film-tourism guides or Halo’s Iceland settings. Use the Iceland guide for the wider itinerary, the Highlands guide before entering the interior, and the volcano guide to understand the landscape.
- OndaTravel film tourism: other films and series
- Iceland: travel, routes and places to visit
- Iceland Highlands and interior: F225 and seasons
- Iceland volcanoes: landscape and geology
- Halo: science-fiction locations in Iceland
Frequently asked questions
Was Prometheus really filmed in Iceland?
Yes. Contemporary July 2011 reporting documents Dettifoss and activity at Hekla/Dómadalsleið.
Which part of the film uses Dettifoss?
The opening sequence uses the Icelandic waterfall to depict an ancient landscape.
Was every alien exterior shot in Iceland?
No. Real locations were combined with studio scenery and digital extensions.
Did Alien: Covenant film in Iceland?
Its prominently documented exterior locations include Milford Sound in New Zealand, with substantial Australian studio work. Do not attribute an Iceland shoot without evidence.
Can visitors recreate the exact waterfall shot?
The falls can be visited from authorised viewpoints, but the western Fosshvammur sector was permanently closed in 2026. Do not cross barriers to recreate a shot.
Were Wadi Rum and Askja confirmed filming locations?
Wadi Rum is a confirmed source of reference photography and HDR material for effects, not a confirmed dramatic filming location with actors. Askja lacks comparable confirmation.
Who is making the new Alien film?
THR reported on 23 October 2026 that Aaron Guzikowski was writing, with Ridley Scott and Michael Pruss producing. The project is in early development: no director, filming, locations or release date were announced, and Fassbender was not involved.
Where can I see authentic making-of materials?
Look for official True North videos, AvPGalaxy’s archive with rights caveats, and authorised Blu-ray extras.
Sources
Sources
- fxguide — Prometheus effects, 13 June 2012
- Skye Guides — first-hand Storr account, 15 January 2012
- Ausfilm — Wayne Borg on Sydney, 31 May 2017
- NZ Film Commission — Alien: Covenant, Milford Sound
- THR — Borys Kit on the new film, 23 October 2026
- Deadline — early film development, 23 October 2026
- TheWrap — new film, 23 October 2026
- AlloCiné — Scott interview, 25 August / published 27 August 2026
- TheWrap — Duffield interview, 14 October 2026
- Vísir — Hekla, 11 July 2011
- Vísir — eastern Dettifoss approach, 20 July 2011
- Iceland Review — F225 and Dettifoss, 17 July 2011
- Brigitte Lacombe — cast portrait near Hekla
- Iceland – Issues and Images 1/2012 — Dettifoss, p. 18
- Vatnajökull National Park — Dettifoss
- Vatnajökull National Park — Fosshvamm closure, 28 May 2026
- Iceland Naturally / Variety — relocation from Morocco to Iceland
- Truenorth — Prometheus Behind the Scenes
- Truenorth — Official Making Of
- Adam Savage’s Tested — Covenant sets
- AvPGalaxy — gallery catalogue
- AvPGalaxy — Blu-ray extras
- Screen Global Production — Australian sets
- Vogue — Janty Yates and Craig Green
- American Cinematographer — Ancient Aliens, July 2012
- Reykjavík Grapevine — later location overview
Author
Krystian „dziadzia przewodnik”The North is my greatest passion, but the world is too beautiful to stay in one climate. On my blog I combine the raw nature of Iceland and Norway with the exotic energy of Thailand and Vietnam, showing you how to travel authentically, with passion and a camera in hand.
