Major film productions in Iceland have become a recurring presence in international cinemas in 2026, with the country appearing in titles including The Odyssey, Supergirl, Masters of the Universe and Greenland 2: Migration. Dune: Part Three, expected in December, also includes footage filmed in Iceland.
The concentration of international releases reflects more than the appeal of glaciers, black beaches and volcanic landscapes. Iceland has developed an audiovisual production network combining experienced local crews, accessible filming locations and public reimbursements for eligible costs.
Major film productions in Iceland in 2026
According to Icelandic public broadcaster RÚV, several of the year’s most prominent international films used Icelandic locations or production services.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Three were both partly filmed in Iceland during 2025. The country also appears in Supergirl, Masters of the Universe and Greenland 2: Migration, which used Icelandic terrain to represent locations including Greenland, France and the United Kingdom.
The historical drama The Brink of War, about the 1986 Reykjavík summit between US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, was filmed entirely in Iceland, including scenes set abroad.
Icelandic locations have also appeared outside cinemas. Háifoss waterfall featured in the final episode of Stranger Things, while the opening sequence of the James Bond video game 007 First Light was set in the country.
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Landscapes are only part of Iceland’s appeal
Leifur B. Dagfinnsson, managing director of Icelandic production company Truenorth, told RÚV that three factors largely explain the country’s appeal: its landscapes, the quality of its film professionals and the reimbursement available to producers.
Iceland offers a wide variety of locations within comparatively short distances. Production teams can move between black-sand beaches, green mountains, waterfalls, glaciers and highland deserts without the logistical difficulties associated with similarly remote environments elsewhere.
Dagfinnsson said accessibility is particularly important when productions need to move several hundred crew members and large quantities of equipment. Local technicians and production companies have also accumulated experience working with complex international projects.
Iceland has hosted major productions for several decades. Films released in the early 2010s included Oblivion, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Thor: The Dark World, Star Trek Into Darkness and Noah. More recently, Icelandic landscapes have appeared across the Star Wars franchise, including Rogue One, The Force Awakens and The Mandalorian.
The role of Iceland’s film reimbursement scheme
The public incentive remains central to Iceland’s ability to compete for international projects. Under the country’s film and television reimbursement scheme, eligible productions can recover 25 per cent of qualifying costs, while larger projects meeting additional spending, employment and production requirements can receive up to 35 per cent.
The scheme is administered through the Icelandic Film Centre (Kvikmyndamiðstöð Íslands). Applications must be submitted before production begins, and reimbursements apply to eligible expenditure connected to work carried out in Iceland.
Dagfinnsson argued that without the incentive, many companies would limit their activities to small landscape shoots. These productions usually employ only a limited visiting team and capture footage to be used as backgrounds during post-production.
Full-scale projects instead bring actors, technicians and hundreds of other workers to Iceland for several weeks. This creates work for local crews, accommodation providers, transport companies, equipment suppliers and other businesses connected to the audiovisual sector.
The system therefore turns Iceland’s natural environment into one component of a broader industrial policy. Landscapes attract initial interest, but incentives and production capacity determine how much economic activity remains in the country.
Films also influence tourism in Iceland
The international visibility generated by films and television series can also affect tourism. Earlier in 2026, Icelandic Tourist Board Director (ferðamálastjóri) Arnar Már Ólafsson said that films, television programmes, music videos and other entertainment content influenced the decision to visit Iceland for approximately half of international travellers surveyed by the authority.
This does not mean that cinema alone determines tourist arrivals. However, repeated appearances in widely distributed productions give individual landscapes an international identity before visitors arrive.
The relationship also creates challenges. Screen exposure can concentrate visitors around recognisable locations, increasing pressure on roads, natural environments and tourism infrastructure. The economic benefits of film-induced tourism therefore depend partly on how Iceland manages access to sensitive areas.
A specialised industry, not only a collection of locations
The number of films released in 2026 does not necessarily make this Iceland’s largest production year. Dagfinnsson pointed to 2012 and 2019 as other periods with particularly significant international activity, while the first half of 2026 reportedly saw relatively little filming.
Several projects are nevertheless under preparation or awaiting release, including new episodes of The Rings of Power and an unnamed series set in the Star Wars universe.
Iceland’s continued presence in international productions will depend on exchange rates, public incentives and the global demand for large-scale filming. Its recent record nevertheless shows that the country is no longer offering landscapes alone. It has built a specialised production ecosystem connecting cultural policy, foreign investment, local employment and international tourism.
