����ý

Batman is known for patrolling the streets of Gotham City, occasionally heading to Metropolis, but what about Liverpool?

You may have seen the pictures from when the city played host to the Caped Crusader as part of filming for the upcoming The Batman movie starring Robert Pattinson.

But how and why did this Hollywood production end up on Merseyside? ����ý Bitesize takes a look at times where parts of the UK pretended to be somewhere else for cinematic blockbusters.

The Batman

In any year other than 2020, the sight of Batman atop of one of Liverpool’s most famous buildings would seem particularly strange.

Given the unusual year we’ve had though, it almost barely raised an eyebrow.

Filming for the upcoming reboot, which will see the debut of Pattinson’s Batman, took place in the city back in October.

The former Twilight star was spotted portraying Bruce Wayne, Batman’s alter-ego, outside St George’s Hall in the city – but left a scene on top of the Liver Building to his stunt double.

Producers chose the city for its architecture as director Matt Reeves confirmed at this summer’s virtual DC Fandome ahead of filming taking place.

“The idea is to go to Liverpool, where there is all the foundation of the Gothic architecture and then add all of the more modern structures through CGI.

“I wanted it to feel like an American city you’ve never been to.”

It’s not the first time Batman has been on these shores.

The Dark Knight trilogy, which starred Christian Bale as the brooding superhero, used both Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire and Wollaton Hall in Nottinghamshire as locations for Wayne Manor, Bruce Wayne’s home.

An exterior shot of Henryd Falls in the Brecon Beacons in Wales was also used as the entrance to the Batcave alongside other filming in London and Glasgow.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life

When you think of iconic Chinese landmarks, you probably imagine the Great Wall.

You almost certainly don’t picture Wales - but the country has pretended to be China on more than one occasion.

While the trailblazing film was 1958’s The Inn of Sixth Happiness (Nantmor in North Wales doubled up as a Chinese village), the biggest production to swap China for Wales was 2003’s Tomb Raider sequel.

Producers were refused permission to film exterior shots in China itself, so set up a fake village on the shores of Llyn Gwynant in Snowdonia.

To give the ruse some credibility, Chinese members of the local community were hired to be extras during filming alongside the movie’s star Angelina Jolie.

The Hollywood actress enjoyed her stay in North Wales so much, she returned in 2004 to shoot drama The Fever.

Fast & Furious 6

The Fast & Furious films are one of the most successful movie series of all-time – the franchise has made almost $6 billion (£4.5 billion) at the box office.

In the film, a huge car chase takes place in the streets of London. So where better to film that, than Glasgow?

The production did film some elements in London – becoming just the third film in history to shut down Piccadilly Circus for filming. The crew were allowed to close the roads for just two minutes per hour to get the shots they needed.

But the majority of the action saw one city step in for another. Filming headed to Glasgow, for logistical purposes.

The streets of Glasgow are particularly wide and the Scottish city also employs a grid system for its roads – meaning it was much easier for the authorities to close down small sections at a time than it would have been in London.

Sadly for fans of the franchise, it was only racing stunts that took place in Scotland, meaning no chance to catch a glimpse of The Rock or Vin Diesel on Broomielaw. The franchise did return to Glasgow in 2018 to shoot spin-off Hobbs & Shaw - again pretending to be London.

Dracula Untold

In 2014, Dracula Untold was released as a reboot of the famous vampire series. The film, part of Universal’s Dark Universe, reimagined Dracula’s origin story and was set in Transylvania.

But instead of heading to central Romania to shoot in the Count’s traditional homeland, producers decided to film 1500 miles west of Transylvania.

The production was based in Northern Ireland, with a number of locations doubling up for Eastern Europe.

The famous Giant’s Causeway was used as the location for a Transylvanian mountain, while 18th Century neoclassical house Mount Stewart stepped in as Dracula’s castle.

Battle scenes were filmed on two hills that overlook Belfast - Divis and Black Mountain. But why was Northern Ireland chosen at all?

Dracula Untold’s location manager Catherine Geary told the National Trust why they filmed in the country. She said: “Divis and the Black Mountain are wonderfully atmospheric and grey – stunningly desolate and perfect for the Transylvania plains.”

It’s not the only brooding, dark and medieval production to take place in the country – fantasy TV series Game of Thrones was also filmed in Northern Ireland.

Captain America: The First Avenger

The Star Spangled Man with a Plan is as American as apple pie – but the vast majority of Chris Evans’ first take on Captain America was shot in the UK.

While parts of the film are actually set in London, many of the exterior scenes portraying Brooklyn and Manhattan were filmed in Manchester and Liverpool.

Manchester’s Northern Quarter streets were chosen to represent the New York boroughs due to its tall, pre-war architecture. Fake shop fronts were put on Dale Street to give it a 1940s look and feel as well as a giant temporary wall at one end of the street, to give the impression of a further depth of field.

Producers also chose to film in Manchester – the first time a Marvel film was shot outside the US – because they felt it would be easier to close down a street for several weeks than it would have been in New York itself.

A chase takes place which sees a newly-strengthened Steve Rogers (aka, Captain America) in pursuit of a villain, which ends up on the Liverpool waterfront. The city’s Stanley Dock doubled up as a Brooklyn pier.

It’s not the only time that Manchester has pretended to be New York. Another Marvel movie, Morbius, was filmed in the city in 2019. Scenes set in the Big Apple for season four of The Crown were also shot in the Northern Quarter.