Run! There’s a T-Rex in Valletta! Or perhaps we’d be more precise to say that there are two very large CGI dinosaurs in St George’s Square. The 2022 blockbuster Jurassic World Dominion, the concluding instalment of the hugely successful Jurassic Park franchise is filmed in Malta. That’s right, the franchise that took generations to cinemas round the globe since 1993! Yet another name to put on the impressive history of films shot in Malta.
Jurrassic World Dominion
Yep, Valletta played backdrop for a memorable scene in the star-studded movie. And contrary to what usually happens, Malta was proudly playing Malta herself! Usually, large-scale international productions choose the island as a more cost-effective option. It stands in for Italy or Greece or a country with similar architecture and climate. Albeit portraying the haven for an illegal dinosaur trading ring, the movie still made all the island proud! What’s more, it grossed upward of a billion USD.
Few people know though that none of the A-listers in that scene actually made it to Malta for filming. In fact, all the action sequences were performed by stunts and body-doubles. Their faces were then replaced by those of Chris Pratt, and Bryce Dallas Howard, through the magic of advanced tech. That is because this was possibly the very first film to roll cameras again right after the first world-wide COVID lock-down in that fateful spring of 2020. Naturally, the A-listers got a bit antsy about the whole thing!
Spielberg sets his lenses on Malta
But this was far from the first time Valletta or Malta lent their beautiful views for the silver screen. In fact, just a stone’s throw away, the much-loved Pjazza Regina, was where Stephen Spielberg decided to have his leading character meet his fixer in a crucial scene which was meant to be happening in 1970s Rome. Munich (2005) was a thriller about the tragic events that unfolded following the 1972 Olympic Games which took place in the West German city.
Back in the Pjazza Regina, the world-famous director opted not to cover up the statue of Queen Victoria, bang in the middle of the square. The décor was meticulously dressed to portray the Italian capital in the 70s, complete with Cinzano umbrellas. Still, the statue betrayed the clever setting. It is said that several options to disguise the regnant’s likeness were proposed to Spielberg. But, he liked the marble statue and wanted her to stay in the shot.
Doubling for Turkey in the 1980s
Another one of the films famously shot in Malta is Midnight Express. It tells the story of how an American man was caught trying to leave Istanbul with copious amounts of weed in the 1970s. Based on a true story, with a very large helping of artistic licence, the film was shot in Valletta. Mainly, it was shot in lower Fort St Elmo, doubling for a Turkish prison. Several other scenes in the opening sequences of the film were shot in Republic Street and St Paul Street. Can you recognise any of those shots from the cult classic?
Michael Fassbender, or better his stunt double, had a ball of a time jumping off roofs in Merchant Street. The stunts were done for the box office hit Assassins’ Creed (2016). In the 2002 adventure classic Count of Monte Cristo, you will surely recognise numerous Maltese buildings. Again, Valletta’s baroque architecture played first fiddle in many of the scenes.
A tasty hidden gem
There are many more films which were shot in Malta and Valletta specifically. Probably the oddest one, only the shrewder viewers will remember.
Towards the end of the absolutely legendary Gladiator (2000), Commodus has an intimate conversation with his sister Lucilla, after he foils the rebel plan. The wistful scene is set in the early morning, on a palatial terrace. The Roman skyline sits in the background… but is it really Rome we see?
Not at all, that’s our lovely Valletta baby! You can recognise the beautiful Baroque domes so iconic of the Valletta skyline, as the sets were constructed across the Grand Harbour in Fort Ricasoli.
The question is: will they revisit the same skyline in the much-anticipated Gladiator sequel which is set to be in the cinemas in 2024? Who knows? We sure hope so!
Title image attribution: © Malta Tourism Authority
