Considering movie moments occur in different genres for wildly different purposes, it’s odd to think that some well-known scenes were filmed in exactly the same place. The film industry is a creature of habit. Familiar tropes define genres, actors get typecast, and studios tend to stick with what works. In that regard, it probably shouldn’t be surprising that this extends to filming locations.
Some places on Earth are visually striking, and that’s surely why filmmakers are drawn to them. However, sometimes a location that has featured in one movie is later shown again in another very different film, and due to the vastly varied context, it’s not always readily noticeable. In other words, sometimes audiences are genuinely shocked to learn that two completely different movie scenes were actually filmed in the same place. We’ve compiled 8 such mind-blowing pairings for your perusal.
8. Iron Man’s Weapons Demo & Django Unchained’s Wilderness
Alabama Hills, Inyo County, California, USA
In 2008, Iron Man introduced the world to Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark. The hero starts his journey as a wealthy and innovate arms dealer, and at one key point in the film demonstrates his weapons for the US military. The scene was shot on location in the Alabama Hills, which rather bizarrely are in California.
Quentin Tarantino also made use of the location for his 2012 movie Django Unchained. The Alabama Hills can be seen during the film’s wilderness scenes, during which its characters explore the untamed west. A few key moments even take place in similar locations to Tony Stark’s desert weapons test.
It’s hard to see that the two movie scenes were filmed in the same place, simply because of how vastly they differ. Django Unchained uses it as it is: an area of remarkable natural beauty. Iron Man uses it as a stand-in for the Middle East, then blows half of it up. Considering one is a superhero movie and the other an ultra-violent Western, it’s probably fair to have missed this one.