Superman filmed in Britain: the UK locations

Superman may live in America, but his most famous films were made in England. The Christopher Reeve films were largely British productions, built on the sound stages of Pinewood, Shepperton and Elstree, and Superman IV turned a Buckinghamshire new town into Metropolis. Here’s where it all happened.

The quick list

Superman (1978): Pinewood and Shepperton

The first film was made mostly at Pinewood Studios. Filming of the Krypton scenes began there on 28 March 1977. Fan production timelines put the Daily Planet newsroom on E Stage in June 1977 and Lex Luthor’s underground lair on D Stage that September (Likely). The icy Fortress of Solitude used Shepperton and Pinewood’s giant 007 Stage.

Not everything was British. The Daily Planet‘s exterior was the Daily News Building in New York, and the Kent farm in Smallville was filmed in Alberta, Canada. The film then had its royal premiere at the Empire, Leicester Square, on 13 December 1978. John Williams’ score was recorded in England too, by the London Symphony Orchestra at Denham: see Superman music.

Superman II (1980): Pinewood and beyond

Principal photography ran at Pinewood from August to mid-December 1979, and the big Metropolis street battle was staged on the Pinewood backlot in November 1979. One fan site also lists Chobham Common in Surrey (Likely).

Abroad, the AFI catalogue lists Paris, Banff and Niagara Falls in Canada. The Niagara sequence is Disputed: one fan site says it was partly cut for budget and redone at Pinewood. Clark’s walk to the Fortress was filmed over a weekend in Buskerud, Norway, in February 1980 (Likely).

Superman III (1983): Pinewood and Alberta

The interiors were filmed at Pinewood, and the junkyard was built on the Pinewood backlot (Likely). Metropolis streets and Smallville were filmed in Calgary and High River, Alberta, in late August 1982.

Superman IV (1987): Metropolis, Milton Keynes

After Cannon cut the budget from $36 million to $17 million shortly before filming, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace was made at Elstree Studios, starting on 27 September 1986, and it found its America close to home:

• Milton Keynes played Metropolis and New York. The settled list (Confirmed by several sources):
  • The United Nations plaza is the forecourt of Milton Keynes Central station.
  • The Daily Planet lobby is the health-club entrance at 488 Avebury Boulevard.
  • The Metropolis Hyatt is the Avebury Building, now the Argos headquarters, at 489–499 Avebury Boulevard.
  • The Metropolis Museum of Modern Art is the old Winter Gardens, where Lex Luthor steals a strand of Superman’s hair.
• Aldwych, a disused London Underground station, became the Metropolis subway.
• The Kent farm in Smallville was rebuilt on farmland outside Baldock, North Hertfordshire, to keep the shoot in England (Likely).
• A disused airfield near St Albans played a US air base (Likely).

For the full story of the film, including its royal premiere and its No. 1 opening in the UK, see our Superman IV guide.

Man of Tomorrow (2027)

James Gunn’s Man of Tomorrow also filmed in the United Kingdom, but no studio or town has been named officially, and we won’t guess. See our Man of Tomorrow guide.

Can you visit?

• Pinewood, Shepperton and Elstree are working studios and aren’t open to the public.
• Milton Keynes and the outside of Aldwych station are public places. The London Transport Museum runs occasional tours of Aldwych, so check its website before you plan a trip.

For more British Superman connections, from comics creators to “real kryptonite” in London, see Superman and Britain. For where Superman’s fictional cities were filmed around the world, see Metropolis and Smallville.