Written by Tom Deehan on May 27, 2016. Posted in On Location / Production News

Transformers: The Last Knight is now filming in Cuba

The fifth instalment of Michael Bay’s film series based on Hasbro’s range of Transformers toys, has begun filming on location in Cuba. Following on from Transformers: Age of Extinction, The Last Knight will be the second film in a new trilogy established within the Transformers universe. Mark Wahlberg will reprise his role as Cade Yeager, starring alongside Josh Duhamel and newcomer Isabela Moner.

Bay took to Instagram to announce that filming had begun, describing Cuba as an: “amazing place.”

The production’s presence in Cuba marks the second American project to travel to the previously embargoed country for filming. Bob Yari’s Papa: Hemingway in Cuba was the first to set foot in the country after being shot on location in early 2014, around the time that access to the state was granted to US citizens.

Describing the experience, Yari explained: “it has a unique beauty to it… you’re in a very unique setting which is really hard to duplicate anywhere else. People have tried in places like the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, but Cuba has such unique features like the Morro Castle and the Malecon. It's a beautiful location.”

Plans emerged in January 2016 that Fast and the Furious 8 would be heading to Cuba during production, a series known for its use of multiple locations throughout the world. The film will also be shot in Iceland, with the intent of setting off the largest explosion ever caught on camera within the country.

Once filming in Cuba is complete, the production schedule for The Last Knight lists Detroit and the United Kingdom as the remaining locations. The film will receive an incredible USD21 million dollars in incentives for the scenes to be shot in Detroit, making it the last production to access Michigan’s incentive programme before it was rendered defunct in late 2015.

Cuba is currently without a film incentive programme but with mounting interest from major Hollywood productions and more countries introducing their own programmes, it could inspire the Cuban Government to invest in a scheme.