July // 2026
From a Santiago rooftop to the Quarry of the Moai: Where Wild Horse Nine was filmed
Wild Horse Nine
Getting a film crew to Rapa Nui is not simple. The island sits more than 3,500 kilometres from mainland South America, accessible only by carefully coordinated flights. Cameras, props and period vehicles had to be transported from Santiago in advance. And once you arrive, you are filming next to some of the most culturally sensitive archaeological sites on earth. The production of Wild Horse Nine got there anyway. In early 2025, Easter Island became a film set.
Wild Horse Nine is a dark comedy and political thriller set in Chile in 1973, during the months leading up to the military coup. The story follows two CIA agents sent from Santiago to Easter Island on a mission that tests their relationship, loyalty and past. John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Parker Posey and Tom Waits lead the cast.
Easter Island
Filming began between February and March 2025 on Easter Island. The production used the island's most iconic sites — Ahu Tongariki, the great ceremonial platform with its fifteen restored moai facing inland, is specifically confirmed as a filming location.
Anakena Beach — the island's only white sand beach, flanked by a row of moai on Ahu Nau Nau — was also used, where local extras including children from island families participated in scenes.
Also Rano Raraku — the volcanic crater on the eastern slopes of the island that served as the quarry where the moai were carved — is used for filming.
Coordination with Comunidad Indígena Ma'u Henua, the organisation responsible for administering Rapa Nui National Park, was central to the production. Archaeologists and cultural specialists supervised parts of the filming process. Local representatives were present throughout to ensure that archaeological sites, Rapa Nui culture and the conservation rules protecting the national park were respected.
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Santiago
After Easter Island, filming continued in Santiago, where scenes were shot in different parts of the city, including the Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport and urban locations that recreated the atmosphere of Chile in the 1970s. A local club in the Conchalí neighbourhood also featured. In Santiago, Steve Buscemi also filmed a scene on the rooftop of a building overlooking the Plaza de Armas.
Moab and Monument Valley
Beyond Chile, the production also filmed in Utah. Moab and its surroundings — including Ida Gulch — provided scenic desert landscape sequences. Monument Valley on the Utah-Arizona border contributed iconic American West vistas. Why the American Southwest appears in a film set in Chile in 1973 is a question the film will answer.
Searchlight Pictures releases it on November 6, 2026.
SOURCE
Sceen-it.com / Easter Island Travel / IMDb / Wikipedia / Searchlight Pictures
CREDITS
© Searchlight Pictures, Blueprint Pictures, Film4 Productions, TSG Entertainment, Fabula / Photo's Diego Araya Corvalán
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