Not Filmed on Gozo
Welcome to our showcase of movies and TV shows that weren’t actually filmed on Gozo. While compiling the definitive list of productions shot on the islands of Gozo or Comino, we sometimes come across films and TV Shows that the internet mistakenly believes were filmed here.
If it’s on this page, we’ve given it a thorough watch and can find no discernible trace of it being filmed here. If you think we’re wrong, then please let us know!
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger
One of the many classic movies from the 70s to showcase the work of Ray Harryhausen. Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger follows our eponymous hero as he helps a cursed prince, while avoiding a wicked witch. This film has it all; a swashbuckling hero, a beautiful princess. a doomed prince, monsters and plenty of action.
Why we Thought it was Filmed on Gozo
We spotted the poster for Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger on a montage poster at the Gozo Film Festival in August 2025. Having now watched it, we couldn’t spot any easily identifiable parts of Gozo. Potentially some of the sea scenes take place around the island but in a film that’s almost 50 years old at this point, it’s almost impossible to confirm it is Gozo’s shoreline.
Where it was Actually Filmed
Spain, Malta, Jordan and the United Kingdom. The opening scenes include a composite castle that includes Mdina, and the water tank at Malta Film Studios was used for the ship sets and marine scenes.
Gladiator & Gladiator II
Gladiator, a gritty, heartfelt epic studded with award-winning performances and directed by one of the greatest directors at the height of his powers. The definitive reboot of the 80s sword-and-sandal genre, Gladiator is one of my favourite films, and the first one I ever watched on DVD.
And then there is Gladiator II.
Why We Thought it was Filmed on Gozo
We didn’t. Never have, never will. However, there’s a few sites on the internet that seem to think that both films were partly shot on Gozo. This might stem from conflating Troy, which as partly shot on Comino, with Gladiator.
Where it was Actually Filmed
Both films were shot partly on Malta, notably Fort Ricasoli, Kalkara, which was the main set for the Colosseum and Rome scenes. The Colosseum was visible from Grand Harbour during Gladiator II’s 2023 shoot. The original Gladiator (2000) used Ouarzazate, Morocco for the slave markets, Bourne Wood, UK was used for the opening forest scenes. Gladiator II (2024) added Malta Film Studios for the unbelievable water battles, and the fight on the road to Rome which was shot in the Miżieb fields
To Catch a Spy
Also known as A Reservation for Death, this light‑hearted Hallmark mystery follows travel writer Chloe as she becomes embroiled in solving a murder at the newly reopened Maltese hotel she is meant to be reviewing.
Why we Thought it was Filmed on Gozo
This was another poster we spotted at the Gozo Film Festival, included in a montage of other films and shows shot on the island. After a thorough watch, the closest the we could tell that the action came to Gozo was a car chase that passed by Lascaris Wharf, the departure point for the Gozo Highspeed Ferry.
Where it was Actually Filmed
It was filmed in Malta, featuring locations in Valletta and Mdina. Hotel Optima, the newly refurbished hotel central to the mystery, was portrayed by two iconic spots: exteriors at The Phoenicia just outside Valletta, and interiors at the Corinthia Palace Hotel in Attard.
The Odyssey (2026)
The latest retelling of Homer’s epic by Christopher Nolan landed in cinemas on 17 July 2026 with Matt Damon as Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Tom Holland as Telemachus and Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy. Shot across six countries on IMAX 70mm cameras, it is not to be confused with the 1997 TV version of The Odyssey, which is a different beast entirely and was shot partly on Gozo, or 2003’s Helen of Troy which filmed at the Blue Lagoon.
Why we Thought it was Filmed on Gozo
We didn’t.
As well as being tiny (only 67 km2), the residents of Gozo are incredibly networked. Forget 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon, for Gozo it is more like 1 degree. If the Odyssey had filmed here, it would’ve been all over the local Facebook groups before craft services had even opened. We would have known.
However, plenty of sites seem to think Calypso’s Cave on Gozo was used for the scenes with Charlize Theron, who plays the love-lorn nymph. Some, hilariously illustrating the point with the view from Mixta Cave, which is the opposite side of the bay from Calypso’s Cave.
Where it was Actually Filmed
Greece (Pylos, Methoni and Acrocorinth), Sicily and the Aeolian Islands in Italy, Morocco (Aït Benhaddou, Essaouira and Marrakesh), Iceland’s Snæfellsnes Peninsula and Scotland’s Moray coast. The storm and ocean battle sequences used the deep-water tanks at Mediterranean Film Studios in Kalkara, Malta, the same facility behind the marine scenes in Gladiator II.