‘Utopian’ English housing estate used to film Star Wars and James Bond – and it’s free to visit
STAR Wars fans have been amazed after discovering some filming locations from their favourite TV series in a residential estate in the middle of a UK city.
Last year the series Andor, a prequel to Star Wars spin off film Rogue One was released on Disney+.
The series follows the story of thief-turned-rebel spy Cassian Andor during the five years leading up to the film.
However, some Star Wars fans in London could easily be walking past some filming locations from the series every single day, without even realising it.
The Barbican estate is a residential complex made up of flats and houses in the centre of the capital.
It’s described as “one of the largest examples of the Brutalist style” and “a utopian ideal for inner-city living” by Dezeen.
However, its brutalist architecture has made it a popular filming location – with Andor among the series to have had scenes recorded there.
Its cold concrete style means that little extra work was needed to transform the estate into the imperial city Coruscant from the series.
However, with clever augmentation, the estate was made to look like the other-worldly planet, home to millions of both humanoid and alien species.
One person who knew all too well about the location was X, formerly Twitter, account Designing Film (@DesiginingFilm) who took their kids to the estate to find some of the scenes from the series.
They wrote: “Currently in London. Went to The Barbican Estate this morning to find some Andor locations with the kids.
“There’s a whole sequence of Andor shots easily found when walking around the centre.”
As part of their thread they went on to say that the whole estate felt like it should be part of the series, while adding that it would be used for the second series too.
They continued: “Designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon and built between 1965 and 1976, much of the detailing feels so familiar in a Star Wars sort of way.
“The Barbican is being used again as a location for the second season of Andor.
“It’s an astounding work of architecture in its own right and a perfect place to imagine as part of Coruscant.”
Andor is far from the only series to have put the Barbican on the screen, with hit series Killing Eve also making use of the estate.
Furthermore, James Bond movies have also been filmed there, with Searcys explaining that it is a “favourite” building for the spy films.
They wrote: “In Daniel Craig’s movies, the HQ of MI6 is filmed at The Barbican, and in Quantum of Solace the organisation operates out of the building for the first time.
“Sharp-eyed spectators will also remember The Barbican from the 2009 Sherlock Holmes movie, starring Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr, and Rowan Atkinson’s hilarious Johnny English.
“Being one of London’s most iconic Brutalist buildings, filming at The Barbican instantly gives any production a definitive sense of place in the heart of the city.”
It wasn’t the only place in the UK that was used for Andor, however, with Black Park, just outside of Slough joining the likes of Harry Potter, Captain America and Goldfinger to have been filmed in the wooded area.
Meanwhile, Middle Peak quarry in Derbyshire, Cruachan Dam in Scotland and Coryton refinery in Corringham, Essex all also featured in the series, alongside other UK locations.
More of its filming locations can be found at en-vols.com.
Meanwhile, this UK city often doubles up as American locations in films.
And this waterfall in the UK was used to film Batman.