What's Filming in Liverpool in 2026? Batman, the Beatles and More

If you have walked past a road closure, a line of white production vans or a street that has suddenly gained 1960s shopfronts, you are not imagining it. Liverpool is having another heavy year on camera.

Batman is back. Two entirely separate Beatles productions have used the city. Michael Fassbender turned parts of Liverpool into 1930s America, a Channel 4 thriller is shooting here, and a new BBC Poirot is being made primarily in Liverpool.

Some productions publish plenty. Others keep streets and schedules deliberately quiet. This guide sticks to what has been confirmed by the productions, Liverpool Film Office or the broadcasters, and says plainly where it has not been. Checked on 19 August 2026.

The short version

• The Batman Part II has been shooting in Liverpool since June.
• Four Sam Mendes Beatles films have used Waterfront North, Walton and the Dingle.
• Hamburg Days, a separate BBC Beatles drama, has also filmed here.
• Kennedy turned Liverpool into 1930s America in April.
• Army of Shadows and Hercule are both in production now.
• Paid extra work is being advertised in Liverpool from late August.

Schedules move. Being listed as a Liverpool production does not mean cameras are on Liverpool streets every day.

The Batman Part II is back in the city

Filming in England confirms that Matt Reeves' sequel "has been shooting in Liverpool from June this year". Robert Pattinson returns as Bruce Wayne, with Colin Farrell back as Oswald Cobb and Sebastian Stan joining as Harvey Dent.

Liverpool already has form as Gotham. The first film used St George's Hall as Gotham City Hall and the Royal Liver Building as the Gotham City Police Department, with Anfield Cemetery used for scenes with Batman and Catwoman, according to VisitLiverpool's guide to films made here.

That is genuinely useful to a sequel. The production can return to buildings already established on screen as parts of Gotham, rather than rebuilding them.

What has not been published is how much of the film ends up on central Liverpool streets. Big productions move between locations and stages constantly, and exact schedules usually only surface when road closures do.

Four Beatles films, filmed partly on Liverpool streets

Sam Mendes is making four interconnected Beatles films, each told from one band member's perspective. The official announcement confirms Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, with all four films due in cinemas in April 2028.

Liverpool's involvement is not guesswork. Liverpool City Halls confirmed in March that streets in Waterfront North, Walton and the Dingle had been dressed as 1960s sets with period vehicles and props.

That is a different kind of filming from The Batman. Liverpool is not pretending to be somewhere else. It is being rebuilt as its own past.

The supporting cast has grown steadily and includes Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, Anna Sawai as Yoko Ono, Aimee Lou Wood as Pattie Boyd, Mia McKenna-Bruce as Maureen Starkey, Lucy Boynton as Jane Asher, Morfydd Clark as Cynthia Lennon and Harry Lawtey as Stuart Sutcliffe.

The production is still active elsewhere. On 16 August the four leads were photographed recreating the Abbey Road crossing in London.

Hamburg Days is a completely separate Beatles production

Confusingly, there are two. Hamburg Days is a six-part television series about the band's formative years playing German clubs, and it is nothing to do with the Mendes films.

Liverpool Film Office confirmed in May that filming had begun across Liverpool, Hamburg and Munich, with the BBC taking the series for BBC One and iPlayer.

Two Liverpudlians have leading roles: Ellis Murphy plays Paul McCartney and Patrick Gilmore plays Pete Best. They are joined by Rhys Mannion as John Lennon, Harvey Brett as George Harrison, Louis Landau as Stuart Sutcliffe, Luna Jordan as Astrid Kirchherr and Casper von Bülow as Klaus Voormann. The series draws on Voormann's autobiography, with Voormann consulting.

Kennedy turned Liverpool into 1930s America

Liverpool was also used for Kennedy, Netflix's eight-part drama about the political dynasty. Michael Fassbender plays Joe Kennedy Sr, with Laura Donnelly as Rose Kennedy, in a story that starts in the 1930s before JFK reached the White House.

Netflix's own announcement concentrated on London, but Filming in England separately records the production "taking Liverpool back to the 1930's during filming this April". Netflix has a full cast guide, which also lists Nick Robinson, Imogen Poots, Wyatt Russell and Eddie Marsan.

Liverpool is regularly used for American period scenes because parts of the centre have the right scale and architecture. That said, not every Liverpool location here need represent America: the story covers Joe Kennedy's spell as US ambassador to Britain from 1938, so British settings belong in it anyway. Netflix has not announced a release date.

Army of Shadows imagines an occupied Britain

Army of Shadows is a six-part Channel 4 drama written by Ronan Bennett, whose recent credits include The Day of the Jackal. Liverpool Film Office confirmed on 16 July that production had begun across Liverpool, Manchester, London and Paris.

Paddy Considine, America Ferrera, Alex Hassell and Kit Harington lead, with Lisa Gunning directing all six episodes. It takes its title and starting idea from Jean-Pierre Melville's 1969 film about the French resistance, but relocates the premise to an occupied Britain.

Which Liverpool locations appear has not been published, so treat specific location claims circulating online with caution. What is confirmed is that Liverpool is one of the production's main filming cities.

Hercule is being made primarily in Liverpool

Of everything on this list, Hercule has the strongest Liverpool base. Liverpool Film Office says filming takes place "primarily in Liverpool", with Edward Bluemel as a younger Hercule Poirot.

It is six 60-minute episodes from Mammoth Screen, part of ITV Studios, with Agatha Christie Limited, for BBC One, BBC iPlayer and BritBox in North America. Rather than adapting one famous novel, it takes three early Christie stories and develops Poirot's relationships with Captain Hastings and Scotland Yard's James Japp.

A large supporting cast was announced on 4 August: James Nesbitt, Tamsin Greig, Jack Gleeson, James D'Arcy, Mawaan Rizwan, Henry Ashton, Calvin Demba, Phil Dunning, Guy Remmers and Rebecca Rittenhouse. Prolific North reported filming had started on 7 August. No transmission date has been confirmed.

A drama set between the wars suits Liverpool because several periods survive within walking distance of each other: Georgian streets, grand civic stone and dockside warehouses, without moving cities.

CBeebies is recording its Christmas panto at the Empire

This year's CBeebies Christmas panto is Treasure Island, and Liverpool Film Office confirms it is being recorded at the Liverpool Empire on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October 2026, with CBeebies faces including Andy Day. It goes out on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer over the festive period.

No ticket or audience arrangements have been published. If you want to be there rather than watch it at Christmas, watch the Empire's own listings rather than assuming seats will be available.

Can you be a film extra in Liverpool?

Yes, and there is paid work being advertised right now. Casting Collective is recruiting Liverpool extras for what it calls a major 1960s music biopic shooting from late August. The call is open to people aged 16 and over who have finished GCSEs or equivalent, and no acting experience is needed.

It is tempting to join the dots to the Mendes films. The listing does not name the production, so it is an unnamed 1960s music biopic until someone official says otherwise.

Extra work is not glamorous. Expect early calls, costume and hair, repeated takes and long waits away from camera. Apply through the casting company's own page rather than social accounts claiming to represent a production, and treat any request for a large upfront fee as a warning sign.

Why productions keep coming back

Part of it is architectural. Small areas hold Victorian commercial buildings, Georgian terraces, civic stone, dock warehouses and modern development, so the city can plausibly be several places and periods. VisitLiverpool's location guide lists St George's Hall, the Royal Albert Dock, Pier Head, the Cunard Building, Croxteth Hall, Knowsley Hall, Port Sunlight and the Queensway Tunnel among the regulars.

The rest is infrastructure, and that is the part that has changed. Liverpool Film Office's 2019 to 2025 report records more than 1,600 productions investing £150m into the local economy and supporting 5,408 full-time equivalent jobs.

Those jobs are not mostly actors. They are electricians, carpenters, drivers, security, caterers, costume, hair and make-up, camera and lighting crew, location managers, plus accommodation, vehicle hire and construction.

The same report says the LCR Production Fund, set up in 2019 with £2.8m, backed 10 productions that won 19 industry awards including four BAFTAs and two International Emmys, adding £24.5m to the city region economy and creating 861 indirect jobs and 56 trainee roles.

The Depot, the Film Office's production facility near Edge Lane, has two purpose-built 20,000 sq ft stages with offices, workshops and unit-base space. It has generated £29.1m in gross value added since opening in 2021.

That is the real difference between a city a production visits for two days and one it can base itself in for months.

What to do if filming turns up on your street

Crews normally clear public roads and spaces with the council and Liverpool Film Office first, and residents and businesses usually get notices about parking restrictions, closures or access. Expect crew signs, security, lighting rigs and dressed shopfronts before any camera appears.

Not every set is publicly named. Productions often work under a title that tells you nothing, particularly where well-known actors are involved, so do not assume the vans outside are what social media says they are.

Respect barriers and crew instructions, and keep entrances and equipment clear. If filming is causing a genuine access problem rather than curiosity, Liverpool Film Office publishes its contact details.

What to watch next

The Batman Part II, the Beatles projects, Army of Shadows and Hercule are all live in the region right now, so the next transformed street is quite likely attached to something bigger than it looks. Liverpool Film Office's filming news is the place to check before believing a location rumour.

If you want to see the buildings themselves, our guide to reading Liverpool through its buildings covers most of the ones productions keep hiring, and the city centre area guide covers what is within walking distance of them.

Useful links and sources

• Liverpool Film Office
• Liverpool Film Office: filming news
• Liverpool Film Office: 2019 to 2025 impact report
• The Depot
• Filming in England: April to June 2026
• The Beatles: A Four-Film Cinematic Event
• Casting Collective: Liverpool extras
• VisitLiverpool: Liverpool film locations