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| Where Was Star City Filmed? Every Major Shooting Location Behind Apple TV’s 2026 Space Thriller. (Credits: Apple TV) |
Star City may be set in the middle of the Soviet space race, but the real star quietly stealing scenes in the background is Lithuania. Apple TV’s ambitious 2026 sci-fi thriller transforms cold-war streets, brutalist buildings, snowy parks and historic corners of Eastern Europe into an alternate-history universe where Soviet cosmonauts race toward the Moon before the Americans do. The result feels massive, tense and strangely beautiful at the same time. One minute characters are debating space missions inside grey concrete headquarters, the next they are walking through streets that somehow look frozen in both history and time itself.
Honestly, half the audience probably finished the series wanting to Google flights to Vilnius immediately after the credits rolled. Created by Ronald D. Moore, Ben Nedivi, and Matt Wolpert, the spin-off to For All Mankind was primarily filmed across Vilnius, Lithuania, with production running from February until July 2025. The filming reportedly involved more than 170 international cast and crew members combined, turning large sections of the Lithuanian capital into a carefully recreated Soviet-era world.
Some exact filming spots were intentionally kept private during production to stop overexcited fans from interrupting filming. Fair enough really. Nothing ruins a tense Cold War scene faster than somebody shouting for a selfie in the background.
One of the biggest filming centres for Star City was Vilnius Old Town, and it is easy to see why. The historic district carries a strange cinematic quality where baroque architecture collides with faded Soviet-era surroundings. The narrow streets, worn facades and old-world atmosphere helped the production recreate 1960s Europe without relying heavily on digital effects.
Several exterior walking scenes, intelligence meetings and civilian sequences were reportedly filmed around these historic streets. Tourists visiting now may recognise corners that appeared during some of the show’s most emotionally tense episodes, although thankfully without military officers arguing about lunar trajectories nearby.
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| Apple TV |
The production also spent significant time in Pašilaičiai, one of Vilnius’ residential districts known for its Soviet-style apartment blocks and practical urban layout. The area became perfect for scenes involving scientists, engineers and military families living under pressure during the fictionalised Soviet space programme.
The district’s architecture naturally carries the exact cold-war aesthetic Hollywood productions usually spend millions trying to recreate artificially.
In Star City, the buildings almost become characters themselves: grey, imposing, practical and slightly intimidating, like they personally disapprove of your life choices.
Another major filming location was Vingis Park, the massive 400-acre green space sitting along the Neris River. While parks usually suggest peaceful walks and overpriced coffee vans, the series uses the area in a far moodier way.
Outdoor training scenes, military movement sequences and several emotionally quieter character moments were filmed there. During winter shooting conditions, the snow-covered park reportedly added an accidental but visually stunning atmosphere to the opening episodes.
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| Apple TV |
Executive producer Steve Oster later admitted the production had not expected the snow to stay around so long, but instead of fighting it, they simply folded it into the series. Sometimes nature accidentally becomes your production designer.
The hauntingly iconic VRM Palace, also known as the Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports, appears repeatedly throughout the series. The building’s sharp Soviet brutalist design makes it look like the perfect headquarters for a government secretly trying to win the space race while surviving political paranoia.
Several key command-centre scenes and official Soviet meeting sequences were filmed inside and around the structure.
Even viewers unfamiliar with architecture noticed the building immediately because it looks exactly like the sort of place where somebody dramatically says, “We are running out of time,” before staring at a giant map.
Production also expanded into Žirmūnai, one of Vilnius’ oldest districts from the Soviet era. Its concrete apartment rows, wide streets and preserved mid-century atmosphere gave the filmmakers additional flexibility when recreating 1960s Soviet life.
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| Apple TV |
Certain driving scenes and public crowd sequences were filmed there, particularly moments showing everyday citizens reacting to the pressure and pride surrounding the lunar mission.
The district’s realistic atmosphere reportedly reduced the need for extensive set construction, which is probably good news for the budget and slightly terrifying news for anyone who realises how little Hollywood needed to change.
Another striking location used in the series was Lukiškės Prison complex, which added a darker political edge to several intelligence-focused sequences. The aged interiors, heavy corridors and historical atmosphere perfectly suited scenes involving classified operations and internal Soviet tensions.
The series leans heavily into the paranoia behind the space race, and this location quietly reinforces that mood without needing dramatic exposition every five minutes.
Filming also stretched into Kaunas, Lithuania’s second-largest city, particularly around areas featuring preserved interwar and Soviet architecture.
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Several transport sequences and government exterior shots were captured there. Kaunas brings a slightly different visual texture compared to Vilnius, offering wider boulevards and more industrial surroundings that helped expand the world of the series beyond a single city backdrop.
Some viewers online even joked that the city looked so cinematic they assumed Apple had secretly built half of it on a studio lot. Lithuania would probably appreciate that compliment.
Another memorable location includes the Lithuanian Exhibition and Congress Centre LITEXPO, which reportedly doubled as sections of Soviet research facilities and aerospace briefing halls. Its large industrial interiors gave the production room for elaborate technical sets without excessive CGI overload.
The series wisely keeps many environments grounded and tactile, which helps the alternate-history setting feel believable rather than cartoonishly futuristic.
Fans have reacted strongly to the filming locations ever since the first episodes aired. Some viewers praised how authentic and immersive the Soviet-era atmosphere feels compared to modern sci-fi productions overloaded with glossy digital sets.
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Others admitted they became distracted constantly trying to identify real Lithuanian landmarks hidden throughout the episodes. Social media discussions have especially focused on Vilnius Old Town and the brutalist architecture scattered across the series, with many calling the locations “unexpectedly gorgeous in a depressing Cold War way.” That oddly specific compliment honestly sums the aesthetic up perfectly.
Travel interest around Lithuania has also reportedly increased among international viewers since the release of Star City. Several fans described the country as feeling like “a forgotten sci-fi movie set that accidentally stayed real.” Others praised how the series balances historic realism with cinematic scale.
Of course, some viewers spent entire episodes debating whether they preferred the actual storyline or simply watching miserable Soviet scientists chain-smoke while discussing atmospheric pressure. Both are apparently valid forms of entertainment now.
What makes the filming locations work so well is that they never feel artificially polished. The streets, buildings and parks all carry a lived-in realism that strengthens the emotional weight of the story.
Star City is ultimately about ambition, sacrifice and political pressure hiding beneath humanity’s greatest technological achievements, and Lithuania’s locations quietly reflect all of that without screaming for attention.
And honestly, that may be why the series sticks in people’s minds long after the finale ends. The Moon missions are impressive, the performances are sharp, but those cold streets, concrete buildings and snow-covered parks give the show its soul.
So if you suddenly find yourself adding Vilnius to your holiday bucket list after binge-watching astronauts argue about destiny and orbital calculations, you are definitely not alone. Which filming location would you actually visit first? Audiences online cannot seem to agree, and the debate is getting almost as intense as the space race itself.