Maps of Movies

Prometheus (2012)

Where Prometheus says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

The alien world was Iceland and Jordan; the star map cave was Scotland; the ship was a studio in England

Scenes and places

The Engineer at the waterfall

A tall, pale humanoid stands alone on a cliff above a waterfall as a spacecraft rises away. He drinks a dark liquid, and his body breaks apart into the falling water. It is the film's first and wordless riddle about where life comes from.

Set in Primordial Earth (waterfall) — A tall humanoid alien stands at a waterfall as a spacecraft leaves the planet.

A place the film treats as the beginning of time, a vast canyon waterfall in northern Iceland.

Filmed at Dettifoss, Iceland (Vatnajökull National Park, Northeast Iceland, Iceland) — Filmed here: the waterfall of the opening scene. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The star map in the cave (2089)

In 2089 Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway find a painted star map in a Scottish cave that matches ones from unrelated ancient cultures. They read it as an invitation from the beings who made humanity. This one find sets the whole expedition in motion.

Set in A cave in Scotland — Archaeologists find a star map in a cave in Scotland.

A mountain cave in Scotland; the sources give no exact cave.

Filmed at Old Man of Storr, Isle of Skye (The Storr, Trotternish, Isle of Skye, United Kingdom) — Opening-scene landscape shot on Skye. The cave itself was shot at a separate, unnamed cave in the Scottish mountains. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Waking aboard the Prometheus

After two years of sleep David wakes Shaw as the ship arrives, while he alone has watched over the voyage. At the briefing Shaw and Holloway tell a skeptical crew the map is an invitation, not just a map. The corporation's real aim is still kept from them.

Set in Spaceship Prometheus (interior) — The crew wake from suspended animation at the end of the voyage and meet for a briefing.

A studio set rather than a real place: an invented ship built on stages in England.

Filmed at Pinewood Studios, England (Buckinghamshire, Iver Heath, United Kingdom) — UK studio work began at Shepperton and Pinewood; which ship sets were built where is not stated. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Landing on LV-223

The ship sets down on a bare, mountain-ringed moon near a vast artificial structure. Shaw and Holloway rush in, hoping to meet the makers of humanity. The crew push into the dark with David, the android, leading them.

Set in LV-223 (mountainous surface) — The Prometheus lands on a barren, mountainous moon beside a large artificial structure.

A made-up moon, played by a real volcano's lava fields and a desert canyon.

Filmed at Hekla, Iceland (Hekla, South Iceland, Iceland) — Exterior shots of the alien world began at the base of this volcano. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Filmed at Wadi Rum, Jordan (Wadi Rum, Aqaba Governorate, Jordan) — The desert valley used for more exterior scenes of the alien world. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Inside the giant structure

The crew find stone cylinders, a monolithic head and the body of a huge alien. Shaw takes the head for study while two of the crew get lost in the maze. A storm forces everyone back to the ship, and David quietly pockets a cylinder.

Set in LV-223 structure (interior) — The crew explore corridors, stone cylinders and a giant carved head inside the artificial structure.

An invented alien building; the sources do not say which stage or location played its interior.

The drink on the ship

Holloway is bitter that the makers are gone. David asks how far he would go for answers, and Holloway says anything and everything. David hands him a glass he has secretly tampered with, and Holloway drinks.

Set in Spaceship Prometheus (interior) — Back on the ship, David talks with Holloway over a drink.

Another studio set aboard the ship, so no real location is attached.

Filmed at Ciudad de la Luz, Alicante, Spain (Ciudad de la Luz, Alicante, Spain) — Large water tank and nearby beach shoots (which scene is not stated) Google Maps · Apple Maps

Characters

• Elizabeth Shaw — An archaeologist who believes the star map is an invitation from humanity's makers.
• Charlie Holloway — Shaw's fellow archaeologist, who wants to meet the Engineers and ask why.
• David — The android who watches over the crew during the long voyage.

Questions answered on the map

• Where was the alien moon in Prometheus really filmed?