Beautiful BC from A to Z: X is for X-Men

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No the X-Men aren’t from BC, although we’ve got our fair share of burly Hugh Jackman-esque lumberjacks that could have easily blended in as extras on the set of X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

However as odd as it may sound, very little of this X-Men movie was actually shot in Canada, let alone BC. Besides a few short clips of Vancouver’s Stanley Park, most of the film was shot in Australia and New Zealand. Even the “Canadian Rockies” depicted in the film are actually the South Island of New Zealand.

But I still need something for the letter X so let’s go back a bit further.

As it turns out, while the Wolverine line of the X-Men movies may have favored New Zealand for filming, much of X-Men series (2000-2006) was filmed in Canada – in British Columbia to be exact. With one of the most identifiable sets being an iconic BC landmark and real-life castle.

I bet you didn’t know we had castles in BC.

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Constructed in 1908, Hatley Castle was home to the Royal Roads Military College, a naval training facility, from the 1940s to 1995. It is presently the administrative centre for Royal Roads University. Located in Colwood, BC (in greater Victoria), Hatley Castle is a designated National Historic Site of Canada. On film it’s also Xaviers’ School for Gifted Youngsters in the first three X-Men films.

However filming at Hatley Castle doesn’t end with the X-Men franchise. Recently the building has been used in the television shows Smallville, as Luthor Mansion, and Arrow as Queen Mansion. Unfortunately neither of those shows begin with the letter X.

And now you can look for a little part of BC should there be any flash-backs/flashes forward in the next X-Men film, X-Men: Days of Future Past, in theaters next month.