Where was The Dog Stars (2026) Filmed? See real Locations

The plains look empty. The forests look silent. But Hig’s Colorado in The Dog Stars isn’t Colorado at all.

Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic thriller, starring Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin and Margaret Qualley, takes viewers into a world where a flu pandemic has wiped out most of humanity. But the American wilderness on screen was recreated thousands of miles away, across some of Italy’s most striking landscapes.

So, where was The Dog Stars filmed? The production spent around nine weeks shooting across four Italian regions, from the forests of Cansiglio and the open valleys of Abruzzo to the deserted-looking streets of Rome. A few additional scenes were also filmed at Pinewood Studios in the UK.

And there’s more to these locations than just movie magic. Many are real places you can visit, including the airfield that doubles as Hig’s home and the Italian forests that stand in for the Colorado wilderness.

The Dog Stars Filming Locations

The Dog Stars was filmed mainly in Italy, between late April and late June 2025. The crew turned Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Abruzzo and Lazio into rural Colorado.

Now let’s walk through each location.

Lake Bordano, Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Cameras started rolling on April 29, 2025, on the shores of Lake Bordano. It’s a small artificial lake in the town of Bordano, in Italy’s far northeast. The production spent its first week here before moving west.

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The setting is calm water ringed by steep, wooded mountains. That’s exactly the kind of quiet, empty landscape a world after the end needs.

Bordano is also home to the Butterfly House (Casa delle Farfalle), a tropical greenhouse full of free-flying butterflies. It makes a fun stop for fans travelling with family.

Also read: Where Was Netflix’s Apex Filmed? Every Real Location Behind the Charlize Theron Thriller

Cansiglio Forest and Plateau

This is the heart of Hig’s wilderness.

Cansiglio is a karst plateau in the Belluno Prealps, on the border between Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It sits around 1,000 metres above sea level and is covered by one of the biggest beech forests in Europe.

Why Cansiglio? It has dense woods, open clearings, cool northern light and mountain terrain that passes easily for Colorado. Filming took place here from May 12 to 16, 2025.

The crew shot across several spots:

The shoot was big news locally. Italian press reported closed trails, around 500 extras and even three goats that were cast for the film. Ridley Scott stayed in nearby Follina, where fans gathered for autographs and selfies.

Polcenigo

Polcenigo didn’t just appear on screen. It kept the whole production running.

The town served as the crew’s base during the Cansiglio shoot, with the Dolomites as a backdrop. Local hotels were reportedly fully booked while the film was in town.

The Cimbrian Villages of Cansiglio

Look closely at the old wooden houses. They’re real, and they’re centuries old.

The Cimbrian villages are small historic settlements on the Cansiglio plateau, including Pian Osteria. They were founded by descendants of medieval Germanic peoples. In a post-apocalyptic story, their weathered buildings feel like the last traces of a lost world.

Also read: Where Was Highlander Remake Filmed? Every Place Where the New Movie Was Shot

Sirente-Velino Regional Park, Abruzzo

This is where Italy became the American plains.

After the north, production moved south to Abruzzo, inside the Sirente-Velino Regional Natural Park. It’s one of the biggest parks in the central Apennines, with peaks above 2,000 metres and huge open pastures.

Those wide horizons let Scott recreate Colorado’s open country without leaving Italy. Filming centred on Ovindoli, Secinaro and the Val d’Arano valley. Local reports say filming in Ovindoli wrapped in early June 2025.

L’Aquila–Preturo Airport (Hig’s Hangar)

This is the location fans care about most. Why? Because it’s home.

In the film, Hig lives at a small airfield in Erie, Colorado, with his dog Jasper and Bangley. The real hangar is at L’Aquila–Preturo Airport, nicknamed the “Airport of the Parks.” It’s the refuge Hig flies out of on every supply run.

It’s a small airfield, not a busy international airport. That’s exactly why it works on screen as a forgotten outpost.

Avezzano

Avezzano filled in the gaps.

The production also filmed in Avezzano, a town in the province of L’Aquila, in late May 2025. It added more Abruzzo exteriors to the film’s mix of empty landscapes.

Cinecittà Studios, Rome

Not everything was shot outdoors.

In June 2025, the production moved to Rome. Interior sets and several urban sequences were built at Cinecittà, Rome’s legendary studio complex.

Hollywood loves this place. Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York was made here, and so were dozens of other large-scale productions.

EUR District, Rome

The empty city scenes? This is where they were shot.

For exteriors, Scott chose EUR, a district built under Mussolini for the 1942 World’s Fair that never happened. Its giant white marble buildings and wide boulevards look strangely deserted even on a normal day.

Locals saw burning cars and a helicopter flying between the buildings during the shoot.

Also read: Where Was Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Filmed? Inside the Real Locations

Casal Bernocchi, Rome

A normal neighbourhood, turned apocalyptic.

Casal Bernocchi is a residential area in Rome’s X Municipio, near Ostia. The crew dressed its streets to look abandoned for the film.

Bosco Macchia Grande, Manziana

This is where it all ended.

Production wrapped in late June 2025 after around a month of filming in Bosco Macchia Grande. It’s a protected woodland in Manziana, northwest of Rome, full of oaks, chestnut trees and open clearings. Official Italian production records list the shoot as running from April 28 to June 27, 2025.

Locations Outside Italy

Wait, didn’t we say it was all Italy? Mostly, yes. But a few scenes came from elsewhere.

Pinewood itself confirmed that some scenes were shot on its stages.

The Dog Stars Cast

Jacob Elordi leads the film. He plays Hig, a pilot living alone with his dog.

Behind the Scenes

The making of this film is a story in itself.

The road to the screen had a few bumps. Paul Mescal was first cast as Hig in November 2024. Scheduling conflicts with Sam Mendes’ Beatles films forced him out, and Jacob Elordi took over in January 2025.

The release date moved too. The film was first set for March 27, 2026, before landing on August 28, 2026.

Where to watch The Dog Stars?

The film first played in theatres. Now it’s heading home.

As a 20th Century Studios film, it’s expected to stream on Hulu in the US and Disney+ elsewhere. No official date has been set yet.

Reviews

Critics were divided. Very divided.

The film premiered at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London on August 20, 2026. Reviews were mixed, and the box office was soft.

The common thread? The visuals. Even critics who disliked the pacing praised how good the Italian landscapes looked on screen.

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Paul Fogarty

Paul is an entertainment news writer and the newest family member of Castalkie who joined in October 2022. His interest is in covering the filming locations of movies and TV shows.

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