The Lands Between have finally touched solid ground. Principal photography on the live-action Elden Ring movie began this week in London, with the production taking over UNESCO-listed Greenwich's Old Royal Naval College, now transformed into the game's capital city Leyndell. Just 48 hours after our previous piece covering the March 3, 2028 release date and cast reveal, leaked set photos have the fan community in a frenzy. With a budget well over $100 million and shoots planned across Scotland and Iceland, this is A24's most ambitious swing yet.

Filming Begins at Greenwich: The Naval College Becomes Leyndell

On April 21, 2026, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that principal photography on Elden Ring had begun in the UK. The primary location: the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, southeast London. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren in the late 17th century, this Grade I-listed architectural masterpiece has previously hosted shoots for Pirates of the Caribbean, Les Misérables, and The Crown, making it one of Britain's premier heritage filming locations.

According to Shortlist's exclusive on-set photos, the college grounds have been transformed into a foggy medieval marketplace evoking the game's Royal Capital Leyndell. Hundreds of extras in period clothing populate the scene alongside armored soldiers and rustic props. Dry ice and smoke machines are lending the set a mystical, uncanny atmosphere. Signage reading "Leyndell Streets" has been spotted, along with props referencing Stormveil Castle, the iconic first major area of the game.

Green screens are also visible on set, suggesting that massive set-extension work, possibly including the towering Erdtree itself, will be added in post-production. Director Alex Garland has been photographed on set, grey beard and all.

The Shoot Extends to Scotland and Iceland

According to Screen Daily and Wikipedia's production credits, London isn't the only location. Additional scenes are being filmed in Scotland, with summer shoots planned in Iceland.

This is an ambitious approach to capturing the varied landscapes of the Lands Between. The Scottish Highlands' desolate moors evoke Caelid or the Mountaintops of the Giants, while Iceland's glacial terrain pairs beautifully with the otherworldly scenery of the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. It follows in the lineage of The Lord of the Rings (New Zealand) and Game of Thrones (Ireland, Iceland), large-scale fantasy productions using real landscapes to build monumental worldbuilding.

Co-producing with A24 and Bandai Namco Entertainment is London's DNA Films, run by Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich, Garland's longtime collaborators of over two decades. George R.R. Martin serves as executive producer alongside Vince Gerardis.

"Well Over $100 Million": A24's Biggest Bet Yet

According to sources cited by The Hollywood Reporter, the budget is expected to run "well over $100 million," with principal photography lasting approximately 100 days. This will become A24's most ambitious and expensive feature film project to date.

For context on that 100-day schedule: Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer wrapped in 57 days. Denis Villeneuve's Dune shot for 87 days. Ridley Scott's Gladiator II ran around 90 days. Excluding outliers like The Lord of the Rings trilogy (274 days combined), 100 days sits near the top tier of modern Hollywood production schedules.

The scale-up is staggering compared to A24's indie roots. Midsommar cost about $9 million; Everything Everywhere All at Once $14–25 million. With Elden Ring, A24 is vaulting straight into franchise-blockbuster territory. The timing isn't coincidental, Garland's Civil War earned $127 million worldwide, one of A24's highest-grossing releases ever, and the studio is building on that momentum.

FromSoftware's Adaptation Boom

Elden Ring filming beginning isn't an isolated event. 2026 has seen FromSoftware's IPs move into adaptation territory at unprecedented pace:

  1. SEKIRO: NO DEFEAT, animated theatrical film, releasing in Japan 2026
  2. Bloodborne, R-rated animated feature from Sony Pictures, announced at CinemaCon 2026
  3. Elden Ring, live-action A24 feature, March 3, 2028

All three of FromSoftware's flagship IPs entering film production simultaneously speaks volumes about Hollywood's regard for the studio. Where the "Soulslike" genre label was once the extent of their cultural reach, FromSoftware has become a brand the entertainment industry actively pursues.

Notably, each project runs through a different producer, different medium (live-action vs animated), and different distribution network (A24 / Sony / domestic). This suggests Bandai Namco Holdings and KADOKAWA/FromSoftware are pursuing a strategy of distributing risk across optimal partners rather than locking their IP into one exclusive deal. Combined with the recent Oasis Management stake in KADOKAWA, it reflects serious capital-market interest in the international expansion of FromSoft IP.

Post-Production Window: About 22 Months

Filming begins late April 2026; theatrical release is March 3, 2028. Back-of-envelope: principal photography wraps roughly early August 2026 (after ~100 shooting days, allowing for breaks), leaving approximately 19 to 22 months of post-production.

Dune had about 16 months of post. Avatar: The Way of Water took over four years. For an IMAX production built on heavy VFX work, 22 months is arguably on the tighter side, especially given what has to be built in CGI.

The Erdtree's visual realization, the multi-limbed demigods like Malenia and Radagon, aerial plates of the Lands Between, all of this will likely go to top-tier VFX houses (ILM? DNEG? Framestore?). Fan speculation suggests the final landed budget, including VFX, may actually push toward $120–150 million before all is said and done.

How's Japan Reacting?

On Japanese social media, the Greenwich filming location has been met with a particular kind of appreciation: "Wren's neoclassical architecture working as Leyndell is a blind spot I didn't see coming," one X post reads. Others note how British Gothic atmosphere aligns naturally with the Lands Between's uncanny dread.

The phrase "well over $100 million" has also drawn mostly positive reactions: "Didn't expect A24 to go this hard," and "makes sense given Garland brought this in as a passion project." Fans appreciate that this isn't a studio-assigned cash grab.

That said, deeper adaptation concerns persist. "I still can't picture how they'll shoot the boss fights," and "how do you condense the repeated-playthrough nature of the Tarnished's journey into a single 2-hour film?" These are questions no amount of location scouting or set design can answer. Adaptation fidelity remains the film's biggest challenge.

When the Lands Between emerge from the British fog, how will the game's otherworldly dread blend with live-action's inherently this-worldly grounding? How is the news landing in your country? And what locations from your part of the world would fit the Elden Ring aesthetic? Let us know in the comments.

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