If there’s one thing that sets War Machine apart from the other big budget action flicks that Netflix churns out, it’s that much of War Machine 2026 was filmed on location in the great outdoors. It really makes a difference when the CGI robot is crashing through real trees, instead of just another CGI background!
Written and directed by Patrick Hughes (best known for The Hitman’s Bodyguard and its sequel), War Machine stars Ritchson as a grieving army veteran, enrolls in a brutal boot camp to become an “Army Ranger,” a special ops group of the U.S. military that deals with classified incidents. Like, for example, an alien spaceship from another planet. In addition to Ritchson, the War Machine cast includes Dennis Quaid, Stephan James, Jai Courtney, Esai Morales, Keiynan Lonsdale, Jarryd Goundrey and Daniel Webber.
Most of War Machine takes place outside, and finds star Alan Ritchson battling the forces of nature, in addition to battling the forces of aliens. Read on to learn more about the War Machine 2026 filming locations.
Where was the War Machine 2026 movie filmed?
War Machine was filmed, for the most part, on location in Australia, where director Patrick Hughes is from. According to a report from Variety, War Machine filmed in Victoria— a state in southeastern Australia—in September 2024. The production had financial incentive to film in Victoria, thanks to the Victorian Screen Incentive, Victorian Digital Screen Rebate and Regional Location Assistance Funds, administered by VicScreen, a state agency dedicated to creative and economic screen development in the state.
On-location filming spots in Victoria included the town of Bright and the town of Myrtleford, which are both located in the Alpine Shire area, known for it’s nature, national parks, and ski resorts. Some sequences were also filmed on a set at Docklands Studios Melbourne.
The military based where 81 trains to become a ranger, which is canonically in Colorado, was actually filmed at Laverton’s RAAF Base Williams, according to a report from Business News Australia.
War Machine director Patrick Hughes told Variety, “Since directing my first feature, Red Hill, in High Country, Omeo, back in 2010, I’ve predominantly been working on projects internationally. However, it’s been a lifelong dream to bring Hollywood-style blockbusters home to Australia.”
According to that same Variety report, War Machine also filmed for three weeks in New Zealand in November and December 2024. For the sequence where the soldiers carefully climb a zip line above a dangerous, roaring river, that was filmed on the Kawarau River in Queenstown, New Zealand, at a section of rapids known as the Chinese Dog Leg, according to report on the filming from the Otago Daily Times.
“It’s incredibly difficult to do in terms of production, made even more complicated by the fact that we shot in real world environments in the wilderness,” Hughes said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “That meant we had a lot of locations where we had to [helicopter] up all the crew, equipment and safety teams. We had Alan crossing grade five rapids in New Zealand. It’s insanity when you think about it, but we pulled it off.”
So there you have it, War Machine was shot on location in southeast Australia and in southwest New Zealand. As long as their are no killer alien robots, both seem like beautiful places to visit.
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