Greenland 2: Migration landed in cinemas on January 9, 2026, and brought Gerard Butler back as John Garrity for a post-apocalyptic survival story that feels very different from the frantic first film. Where Greenland (2020) was a race against a falling comet, the sequel is about what comes after: a frozen, shattered Europe and a family trying to cross it. The landscapes in Migration are so convincingly desolate and cold that viewers have been asking the same question since the trailers dropped. Here is a complete breakdown of every confirmed filming location.
About Greenland 2: Migration
Directed by Ric Roman Waugh and written by Chris Sparling and Mitchell LaFortune, Greenland 2: Migration is the 2026 follow-up to the 2020 disaster thriller. It brings Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin back as the Garrity family. Set a decade after the Clarke comet catastrophe, the sequel pushes the family out of the Greenland bunker system and into a devastated Europe, where the environment itself feels like an enemy.
| Detail | Information |
| Director | Ric Roman Waugh |
| Written by | Chris Sparling and Mitchell LaFortune |
| Release Date | January 9, 2026 |
| Runtime | 1 hour 38 minutes |
| Rating | PG-13 |
| Budget | $90 million (estimated) |
| Worldwide Box Office | $44.4 million |
| Primary Filming Countries | Iceland and England |
| Production Period | April to July 2024 |
| Tagline | “5 years ago, the world ended. That was just the beginning.” |
The movie picks up the story of the Garrity family five to seven years after the first film. John Garrity (Gerard Butler), Allison (Morena Baccarin), and their son Nathan (Roman Griffin Davis) are forced to leave the safety of the Greenland bunker. Their new journey is a dangerous migration across the devastated, frozen wasteland of Europe.
Where was Greenland 2: Migration filmed?
Greenland 2: Migration was filmed across Reykjavik in Iceland and multiple locations in England, including Alton in Hampshire, Long Valley in Aldershot, Tessa Road in Reading, and Shinfield Studios, with principal photography running from April to July 2024.
| Location | Country | What It Represents in the Film |
| Reykjavik | Iceland | Post-apocalyptic wilderness and frozen landscapes |
| Alton, Hampshire | England | Post-apocalyptic town sequences |
| Long Valley, Aldershot | England | Open terrain and exterior chase sequences |
| Tessa Road, Reading | England | Urban and semi-industrial scenes |
| Shinfield Studios, Berkshire | England | Controlled interior and set-based scenes |
| Farnborough International Studios, Hampshire | England | Unit base and large crowd sequences |
Filming took place in locations across Iceland and the UK to capture the mix of ruins and wilderness on the planet’s surface.
Reykjavik, Iceland
The production crew arrived in June 2024 for roughly two weeks, filming across different streets and neighborhoods that were redressed to look desolate and ruined – perfectly matching the film’s post-apocalyptic tone. Other major productions like Independence Day, Heart of Stone, and Sense8 have filmed here too, cementing Reykjavik’s reputation as one of cinema’s most versatile locations.
If the film has made you curious about visiting, Reykjavik is well worth the trip. It is the northernmost capital city in the world – known for being one of the safest, cleanest, and most environmentally progressive cities on the planet. Visitors can explore fascinating museums, enjoy a buzzing food and nightlife scene, and soak in geothermally heated pools after a long day of sightseeing.
Whale-watching tours from the Old Harbor are a highlight, with humpback whales and harbor porpoises regularly spotted – tours run year-round, though April to October is the best window. June to August brings the warmest weather and near-endless daylight, making it the most popular time to visit.
Also read: Where Was Netflix’s Apex Filmed? Every Real Location Behind the Charlize Theron Thriller
Alton, Hampshire, England
Filming took place in Alton, Hampshire in May 2024. The Market Square and some of the town’s roads and parks were closed and given a post-apocalyptic makeover. For locals in Alton, watching their familiar high street transformed into a ruined version of itself was understandably jarring. The production dressed the town in rubble, overgrown vegetation, and crumbling storefronts to represent a generic devastated European settlement.
Long Valley, Aldershot, England
Some of the shooting also happened in Long Valley, Aldershot, which is a military training ground and a frequently used production location because of its controlled access and the versatile nature of the terrain. The open ground and sparse, scrubby landscape of Long Valley was used for exterior sequences requiring wide open space, and its military history made it a straightforward site to manage large production units.
Tessa Road, Reading, England
Tessa Road in Reading also features in numerous scenes of the film, contributing to the urban or semi-industrial sets. Reading sits within easy reach of Shinfield Studios, making it a practical choice for location days that needed to connect with studio work happening nearby.
Shinfield Studios, Berkshire, England
Many important scenes for Greenland 2: Migration were filmed at Shinfield Studios on South Avenue in the borough of Reading. The studio has 18 fully soundproofed, purpose-built sound stages, along with 38 workshops, production offices, and a backlot ideal for the construction of exterior sets.
Shinfield Studios is located 25 miles west of central London and has hosted several major productions, including Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, and Squid Game: The Challenge. Shinfield Studios has evolved into a key production centre for blockbuster films, and its facilities enabled Greenland 2: Migration to create intricate settings that matched the on-location environments.
Also read: Your Friends and Neighbors Filming Locations: Every Real Place Behind the Show
Farnborough International Studios, Hampshire, England
One of the most significant UK sites was Farnborough International Studios, which served as the unit base for the film. It was not just a place to park trucks, it allowed the production to function efficiently, especially during crowd-intensive days.
Assistant locations manager Ricky Santos praised the setup directly, saying it was one of the best crowd bases he had ever used, with so much space for large crowd numbers and all the production kit, and that the studios team was incredible.
Farnborough International Studios offers two 22,000-square-foot sound stages, 20,000 square metres of support space, and on-site locations including staircases, corridors, private roads, an airport lounge replica, and a large stunt area.
Greenland 2: Migration Behind the Scenes
Icelandic photographer Rán Bjargar was on set as the unit stills photographer, and she’s been sharing some of what she saw on Instagram. Not the big action moments, but the stuff in between. Crew waiting for the fog to clear, someone grabbing a coffee, teams resetting gear before the next take.
What stands out is just how many people it takes to pull something like this off. Hundreds of them – drone operators, stunt coordinators, explosives experts, makeup artists, medics, caterers – all showing up every day to Iceland’s mountains and making it work.
The bus attack scene alone had explosives teams and stunt crews working together on location, with the Icelandic highlands doing a lot of the heavy lifting visually.
Full Cast of Greenland 2: Migration
The cast of Greenland 2: Migration includes:
| Actor | Character |
| Gerard Butler | John Garrity |
| Morena Baccarin | Allison Garrity |
| Roman Griffin Davis | Nathan Garrity |
| Tommie Earl Jenkins | General Sharpe |
| Amber Rose Revah | Dr. Casey Amina |
| Trond Fausa Aurvag | Adam Shaw |
| Peter Polycarpou | Dr. Haugen |
| Gina Gangar | Elizabeth Price |
Is Greenland 2: Migration worth watching?
The film has received mixed reactions from the critics.
| Platform | Score | Based On |
| Rotten Tomatoes (Critics) | 49% | 99 reviews |
| Rotten Tomatoes (Audience) | 67% | 1,000+ verified ratings |
| Metacritic (Critics) | 49 / 100 | 19 critics |
| Metacritic (Users) | 4.7 / 10 | Mixed or average |
| IMDb | 5.2 / 10 | 17,000+ user ratings |
| Box Office (Worldwide) | $44.4 million | Budget: $90 million |
The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus reads: “The world ends more with a whimper in Greenland 2: Migration compared to its predecessor’s big bang thrills, but Gerard Butler’s sturdy star power keeps this continuation reasonably compelling.” The audience consensus adds that it delivers decent thrills even if the ending fails to stick the landing.
On Metacritic, Screen Rant awarded the film an 80 out of 100, writing that Greenland 2 manages to put itself in a league of its own, proving that disaster movies can avoid being totally nonsensical and that the exploration of what comes next can be just as compelling as the original event.
The Associated Press gave it 1.5 out of 4, writing that the sequel is more focused on emotion and character since the comet event happened long ago, but that none of it is compellingly rendered and is forgotten when convenient. The Guardian awarded 2 out of 5, noting the film doubles down on its predecessor’s earnestness, alternating between grimly dispatching side characters and then getting maudlin about its own choices.
Greenland 2: Migration (2026) vs Greenland (2020)
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes (Critics) | IMDb |
| Greenland (2020) | 78% | 6.4 / 10 |
| Greenland 2: Migration (2026) | 49% | 5.2 / 10 |
