Directed by Baltasar Kormákur and starring Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton and Eric Bana, Netflix survival thriller Apex has quickly become one of the streamer’s biggest global releases of the year.
While the film unfolds across harsh wilderness terrain and isolated mountain landscapes, much of that environment was carefully crafted at Disney Studios Australia in Sydney, where large-scale sets, stunt stages and water work allowed the production to push physical realism to its limits.
Apex follows Sasha, an elite rock climber and kayaker whose life fractures after a fatal accident on Norway’s Troll Wall. Although the sequence is set in Scandinavia, much of the work was designed and rehearsed at Disney Studios before location plates and environmental elements were integrated into the final scenes.
As the story transitions to Australia, the studio became a major production hub for the film. Behind Building 34, the art department constructed a large water tank used for several of the kayaking sequences. Underwater scenes featuring Sasha battling rapids and being swept downstream were captured practically at the studio, allowing the filmmakers to maintain a grounded and tactile approach to the action.
Stage 4 became home to many of the film’s most technically demanding sequences. Fitted with extensive rigging points and safety systems, the stage functioned as both a rehearsal space and filming environment for the stunt team. It was here that climbing work, rappels, controlled falls and crossbow choreography were developed and refined ahead of location shooting.
Theron spent weeks training on the stage, practicing ascents, descents and stunt movement to ensure the action could be filmed in longer, more immersive takes. Taron Egerton also trained extensively on the same climbing structures, helping the film’s climactic tandem ascent feel physically dangerous and raw rather than overly polished.
Stage 2 underwent one of the production’s most dramatic transformations, becoming the lair of Egerton’s character. Utilising the stage’s indoor water pit, the production created a dark subterranean cave hidden deep within the wilderness. Production designers layered the environment with textured rock surfaces, chains, narrow passageways and concealed alcoves containing traces of previous victims, creating a setting that remained unsettling even between takes.
