Though the majority of movies these days primarily rely on CGI and Green Screens to make actors appear in foreign or made-up places, they are still required to travel to certain locations for filming. This is even the case for superhero movies, who rely on CGI like nobody’s business in order to pull off the visual spectacle of the comic-books they originate from to the big screen. But even if they do travel somewhere for filming purposes, a Green Screen or two won’t be far behind. In this way, the actors can film on location and have the area behind them look the way the director wants it to be without the hassle of dealing with the unpredictability that some locations unfortunately have.

Some examples include having people in the background that shouldn’t be there, or the area not looking quite as pristine as the director hoped it would look like. Plus, travel is expensive in general.  Therefore, it had better be worth the effort that big-budgeted films give to actors and film crews to go someplace outside of Hollywood and the state of California where most films are shot at for the purposes of saving money. So here are some examples of cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies traveling abroad or filming on location somewhere other than a studio backlot.

22 “Tom Hiddleston arrives at the Incheon International Airport” - For the Fans

While he officially debuted in the first Thor movie, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki didn’t become immensely popular until after The Avengers where he served as the primary villain. Since then, Hiddleston himself has become a favorite actor among fans of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) though especially the female ones because of how physically attractive he is. This not only applies to fans in America, but also other parts of the world as Hiddleston is shown here in the International Airport at Incheon, South Korea, to attend a fan event to promote Avengers: Infinity War which came out earlier this year.

21 “Chris Hemsworth arriving at Sydney International Airport” - Hang Ten!

Apart from Tom Hiddleston, another popular actor in the MCU cast is Chris Hemsworth who became popular after debuting as the title character of Thor. Beforehand, the only other noteworthy film he appeared in was the first Star Trek remake where he played as Captain Kirk’s father who nobly sacrificed himself to save his family. While there is talk that Hemsworth might reprise that role, assuming things get worked out regarding the next Star Trek movie, he continues to be likable as he’s shown here in Sydney, Australia, at the International Airport making the friendly “Hang Loose” sign or Shaka.

20 “Infinity War - BTS Photos” - A Well-Deserved Meal

Another privilege that actors have apart from watching the playback with the director is getting catered meals in between filming scenes. This also serves as a form of downtime for them, given how long filming can take depending on a variety of unpredictable elements, so they can get centered and relax before having to get back into character again for the next scene. Hence, we see Cumberbatch (far left), Downey, Jr., (center-left), Mark Ruffalo (center-right) and Benedict Wong (far right) making silly faces as the picture was taken during a shared meal consisting of salad and various drinks.

19 “Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan on Reuniting with the Avengers” - Check This Out

Because Age of Ultron didn’t meet everyone’s expectations as a sequel to the first Avengers movie, which was widely successful, Captain America: Civil War was pressured to succeed. Still, it did pretty well all things considered. This is including the fact that it was the first MCU film directed by the Russo Brothers after they came onboard. In the above picture, we see one of the brothers showing something to Sebastian Stan wearing the civilian clothes that his character Bucky wears in Civil War. Though it’s unclear what it is they’re looking at, they both seem pretty happy about it.

18 “Thor: Ragnarok (2017)” - Gotta Have Those Umbrellas

In most behind-the-scenes footage or pictures, it’s common to see actors with people holding umbrellas over them. This is to not only prevent the actors’ skin from getting too much damage from the sunlight but also keep the hair and makeup intact during rainy days. Though given the amount of natural light in the above picture, it’s probably the former as we see Hiddleston with not one but two umbrellas held on either side of him. Not sure if Hiddleston needs that many, though one of those umbrellas is probably for someone else standing out of the frame.

17 “Official MCU” - Too Early for This

When it was announced that a new version of Spider-Man would be introduced in Civil War, everyone naturally flipped since the beloved Marvel character has been portrayed by two other actors already whose performances have been divided in terms of opinion. Yet the performance given by Tom Holland, who is the youngest actor to portray Spider-Man, managed to win a lot of people over. This was especially the case after the stand-alone film titled Spider-Man: Homecoming, where the above picture comes from showing Holland himself wearing adorably embarrassing pajamas for a scene that’s clearly being filmed.

16 “Avengers BTS” - Shot in New York

One example of Whedon’s influence on the MCU is The Avengers, which was written and directed by him. If it weren’t for that mega-blockbuster hit, Avengers: Infinity War wouldn’t have even come about let alone Age of Ultron before that. But there was clearly a lot of faith from the studios, as Whedon’s crew and the cast were apparently able to shoot on location in New York where many important scenes took place. Some examples include the one shown in the above picture, with Hiddleston’s Loki (middle) Hemsworth’s Thor (right) Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye (left).

15 “The Russo Brothers Share Four New BTS Images From ‘Captain America: Civil War’ - Production Crew Caught on Camera

While the cast members are certainly the main attraction when it comes to the MCU movies, the production crews are just as important. Yet they don’t get much attention, even in the behind-the-scenes footage that’s put on the DVD releases. But because these superhero movies have become so popular, the public constantly demands knowledge about them before they’re released. So the Russo Brothers, a pair of siblings who’ve taken Whedon’s place as the main MCU directors, released photos such as this prior to the release of Captain America: Civil War which shows some of the production crew members.

14 “Russo Brothers Talk Captain America & Landing Marvel Jobs” - Queue the Wires

Of the new actors that have joined the MCU cast, one of the more popular ones has been Elizabeth Olsen (shown on the left being fitted for wires next to one of the Russo Brothers during the filming of Civil War in Atlanta) who plays as the Scarlet Witch. Despite the initial controversy about her and Quicksilver not being referred to as Mutants due to copyright issues with Fox’s X-Men movies (which are now owned by Disney and Marvel Studios), Olsen’s character has become surprisingly important. This arguably starts with Civil War, though she debuted in Age of Ultron.

13 “17 Things We Learned on Our Marvel’s DOCTOR STRANGE Set Visit” - Why So Serious?

Another new addition to the MCU cast that got people excited was Benedict Cumberbatch, who’s most famous for playing the title character of the BBC show Sherlock. Here, he’s shown in the above picture on the right during the filming of his first entry into the MCU as the titular character of Doctor Strange which was partially done in England (which is Cumberbatch’s home-country). Now this film was certainly a challenge to make for all those involved, because the source-material was more cerebral than action-oriented. Yet they made it work, as the film was a huge success.

12 “Image - Thor Ragnarok BTS 9” - Selfie with a Fan

Now it’s not unusual for fans to come up to their favorite actors to take pictures with them, but it is when that kind of thing happens during the filming of an actual movie. Such was apparently the case in the above picture, where Hiddleston takes a picture with a fan during the filming of Thor: Ragnarok which was partially done in Brisbane, Australia, during the scenes that take place in New York where Hiddleston’s Loki meets up with Hemsworth’s Thor. Now whether this happened after the filming was done or before is unclear, Hiddleston seems to be enjoying himself.

11 “First Look At Chris Hemsworth & Tom Hiddleston” - Goofy Grin

Not sure who Hemsworth is smiling at, but it’s so infectiously adorable in its goofiness that one can’t help but smile too. It’s also an interesting contrast to Hiddleston, who’s standing out of focus behind Hemsworth looking smug which seems fitting given the devious character he plays as. Though upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that Hiddleston is trying not to move too much as a crew-member (presumably a makeup artist or hairdresser) touches his face up a little and/or checks it to make sure it’s good for the upcoming scene that they’re probably going to film soon.

10 “Thor Ragnarok BTS 12” - Second Smile

Now compared to the other Thor movies, which tended to be serious in tone and fantasy-oriented despite its attempts at throwing quantum physics into the mix, Thor: Ragnarok took a different approach. Apart from having science-fiction elements, it also went for a comedic approach despite the movie’s dismal premise about the literal end of Asgard which Thor and Loki call home. Yet here we see Hiddleston’s Loki smiling brashly at Hemsworth’s Thor who looks more serious in contrast to the previous picture. Though whether they were filming a scene when this picture was taken or not isn’t clear.

9 “#ThorRagnarok” - This Guy!

So part of the reason for Thor: Ragnarok’s comedic tone (apart from it being produced by Disney Studios) likely has to do with its director Taika Waititi. Hailing from New Zealand, he’s known for his work in comedic films such as What We Do in the Shadows which approached the vampire mythos from the same perspective that he directed as well. Now given where the director is from, that might explain why some of the scenes for Thor: Ragnarok were shot in Australia where the above picture is from with Waititi standing to the right next to Hemsworth and Hiddleston.

8 “Everything We Learned on the Set of ‘Thor: Ragnarok’” - Posing for the Camera

While there are plenty of scenes from Thor: Ragnarok that are set in otherworldly places from the splendid realm of Asgard to the colorful junkyard planet of Sakaar, that doesn’t mean they didn’t shoot at real-life locations. One such example in this place, which is presumably located in Australia where we see Hemsworth’s Thor sporting the new look he acquires after being forced to become a gladiator after landing on Sakaar by chance. Then standing in the strange floating apparatus above Hemsworth is Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie (also known as Scrapper 142) who plays an important role in the movie.

7 “#roadtoinfinitywar” - Showing Off the Stunt-Doubles

Aside from the production crews, another under-appreciated group in the moviemaking business are the stunt-doubles. They’re the ones who are actually doing the cool action moves the characters in these superhero movies pull off, from leaping off of tall buildings to fighting crooks on the streets. Now there are some exceptional actors like Tom Cruise who do their own stunts, but for most actors this is not the case. While they do try to find people who look physically similar to the actors they’re covering for, they can only get so much right as the above picture shows.

6 “Joe Russo & Chris Hemsworth” - The Director Compels Thee

One of the challenges to making a shared universe of movies is maintaining a sense of continuity, which can only be achieved if they are made simultaneously. In other words, while one film is being created another is in the works. Such has been the case for just about every movie in the MCU including Infinity War, which was technically split into two parts despite the titles implying otherwise. So while one of the Russo Brothers is shown in the above picture giving directions to Hemsworth during the filming of Infinity War, they’ve got more work ahead of them yet.

5 “Avengers: Infinity War - Wakanda + ALTA forever” - Wakandans with Hats

Though the fictional nation of Wakanda introduced in Black Panther seemed like an exotic place that doesn’t seem to exist in reality, there were many locations used to bring it to the big screen. Apart from movie sets, the movie was also filmed in parts of Atlanta and Uganda. Now in terms of the picture above, which was taken during the filming of Infinity War, it’s not exactly clear where the filming location is. But considering that many of the actors who are playing as Wakandan tribe members and soldiers are wearing hats, that would imply the location is warm.

4 “Image - Thor in Wakanda (AIW BTS) - Come Here!

If one looks at the above picture carefully, there is a noticeably large blue screen situated in the background behind Hemsworth who’s standing to the right of the Russo Brother who is in the middle of directing him. The reason for that is because even though they’re clearly shooting on location somewhere, the Blue Screen is there to digitally alter the background to fit the setting the scene is supposed to be taking place at. In the above picture’s case, the scene is set in Wakanda even though the surrounding area contradicts this notion since Wakanda isn’t a real country.

3 “Did the Russo Brothers Confirm a ‘Surprise’ Character” - What To Do?

With the Blue Screen closer in this picture behind Evans and both Russo Brothers, its purpose is even clearer in combination with the literal fan that’s to the right of them. They’re both to aid in setting up the scene that is clearly being filmed, which is obviously from Infinity War judging by Evans’ costume. Now compared to many of the other films in the MCU, this one was definitely one of the darker ones in terms of tone given the immense power that its villain Thanos wielded and the consequences it had on the entire universe as a whole.