Maps of Movies

Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

Where Independence Day: Resurgence says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

Most of the world-ending scenes were shot on stages in Albuquerque.

Scenes and places

The Moon base and the runaway weapon (2016)

Pilots Jake and Charlie tow a weapon to the Moon base, and it jams in its clamps. The two have to improvise to save the base.

Set in ESD Moon base — The defense base on the Moon, where tugs tow a new weapon into place.

A fictional defense base on the Moon.

The landed saucer in Umbutu (2016)

Levinson and Marceaux are brought to a warlord whose people share a link with the aliens. Inside the saucer they find the aliens were drilling and sent a distress signal home.

Set in République Nationale d'Umbutu — A fictional African state where the only saucer that landed in 1996 still stands.

A fictional African state with no real filming location on record.

The sphere in the Van de Graaff crater (2016)

Against orders, Jake and Charlie take Levinson and the others to the wreck of the spherical ship. They carry out a container holding a sphere.

Set in Van de Graaff crater, Moon — A crater on the far side of the Moon where a sphere's wreckage lies.

A crater on the lunar far side; the film's visit was shot on a stage.

The mothership lands over the North Atlantic (2016)

A mothership over 3,000 miles across wrecks Earth's defenses and settles over the sea. It starts drilling toward the planet's core.

Set in North Atlantic Ocean — The ocean where the mothership sets down and begins drilling toward Earth's core.

An open-ocean location; the landing is computer-generated.

The Burj Khalifa falls on London (2016)

The mothership's gravity pulls monuments out of Asia and drops them on Europe. The Burj Khalifa comes down on the London Eye.

Set in London Eye, London — The London landmark the mothership's gravity crushes with a tower pulled from Dubai. Google Maps · Apple Maps

The London Eye is a Ferris wheel on the South Bank of the Thames.

Filmed at Burj Khalifa, Dubai — Wikipedia lists the Burj Khalifa among places where some scenes were filmed; the fall onto London is computer-generated. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Filmed at London — Wikipedia says some scenes were filmed in London; it names no street. Scanline VFX built the city from reference photographs and lidar scans. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Singapore's Marina Bay Sands (2016)

The mothership's landing reaches Singapore. The city is shown being destroyed alongside London.

Set in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore — The Singapore hotel complex caught in the mothership's gravity. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A three-tower hotel and casino on Marina Bay.

Filmed at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore — Wikipedia lists Singapore's Marina Bay Sands among places where some scenes were filmed. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Area 51, the rally point (2016)

The survivors regroup at Area 51. There they question the captive alien and learn the invaders form a hivemind led by a Queen.

Set in Area 51, Nevada — The secret base where the survivors gather and the captured alien is held. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A US Air Force site in Nevada; the film's scenes were mostly shot on stages in Albuquerque.

The salt flats and the school bus (2016)

A school bus full of children races across the flats while the ESD sets a trap for the Queen. The trap needs a decoy and a volunteer pilot.

Set in Salt flats near Area 51 — A salt flat where a school bus full of children races for safety.

Wide white salt flats, the setting of an iconic scene in the first film.

Filmed at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah — Wikipedia says the production went to the Bonneville Salt Flats; the cinematographer's account says the salt flats scenes were not shot there (see disputes). Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Filmed at West Wendover, Nevada — Some scenes Google Maps · Apple Maps

Filmed at Albuquerque Studios and Tingley Coliseum, New Mexico — Most of the film Google Maps · Apple Maps

Filmed at Los Angeles — Additional scenes Google Maps · Apple Maps

Characters

• David Levinson — ESD director who tracks the aliens' return.
• Jake Morrison — An Earth Space Defense pilot who defies orders.
• Charlie Miller — Jake's fellow pilot, flying a space tug with him.
• Catherine Marceaux — A psychiatrist studying the aliens' mental link.

Questions answered on the map

• Where was the Independence Day: Resurgence school bus chase filmed?