No, you weren’t imagining things. That really was the Banaue Rice Terraces featured in Avengers: Infinity War, as confirmed yesterday by the production firm that worked on the scene.
Those who haven’t seen the film may want to bookmark this page and read it after, but if you don’t mind the very minor spoilers, here’s the 411.
Apart from its epic ensemble cast of virtually every superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the film is also set in multiple cities around the world including New York, Edinburgh, and as it turns out, the Philippines’s Ifugao province.
In one scene, the film’s main villain Thanos (Josh Brolin) is seen walking out of a small hut to watch the sunset on a vista of mountains and rice paddies.
Anyone who has ever seen postcards of Philippine landmarks (or the back of a PHP20-bill) will notice that it’s the Banaue Rice Terraces he’s looking at.
Yesterday, Bangkok-based Indochina Productions posted a shout out to the Philippine team that worked on the scene along with an aerial shot of the landmark.
“Super Proud of our team who helped on the aerial unit for AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR in The Philippines,” the post reads. “Sorry that they did not put everyone’s name on the end credits, but we know who you are!!!”
https://www.facebook.com/indochinaproductions/posts/2024075040954250
But as most high-budget superhero films go, Brolin didn’t actually go to the Philippines to film the scene and was only added after the fact through visual effects.
The Banaue Rice Terraces were carved into the mountains of Ifugao, a province in northern Luzon island, by ancestors of the indigenous people.
Often calledthe “Eighth Wonder of the World” by Filipinos, it is a source of pride for many, not only for the picturesque view but for reflecting the Filipino value of bayanihan, or the spirit of coming together for the community.
Seeing as Avengers: Infinity War is all about superheroes banding together to save the world, we say the location was a good choice.
