FILM · 2016 · UK
London Has Fallen
21 archived facts 2 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
21 Interesting Facts About London Has Fallen
Interesting Facts (20)
- #001
Because of scheduling conflicts, Morgan Freeman and Gerard Butler never actually share a scene in person; in the White House corridor scene, body doubles stand in with their faces hidden.
- #002
Antoine Fuqua, who directed Olympus Has Fallen (2013), turned down the sequel because he didn't like the script.
- #003
Throughout the series, Gerard Butler softens his Scottish accent since his character is American, but it comes back noticeably in scenes with Scottish actor Bryan Larkin. That's actually a common, usually unconscious linguistic habit: people with more than one accent tend to shift toward the accent of whoever they're talking to.
- #004
Oddly, although Angela Bassett took her role in the previous film just to work with Morgan Freeman, she never works with him here: their characters share no scenes and never interact.
- #005
To promote the film's release, Morgan Freeman lent his voice to the navigation app 'Waze.'
- #006
"Stansted Airport" is really Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, England, home of the Top Gear studio and test track. Air Force One is parked on the stretch of track between the Bentley and Chicago corners, and the many tire marks left by The Stig's Power Laps are clearly visible at Bentley Corner.
- #007
The Boeing 747-200 (G-BDXJ) playing Air Force One at Stansted was the SkyFleet S570 in Casino Royale (2006) and was never returned to its standard configuration, so B-52-style engine pods and fuel pods on the pylons are visible in several shots. The plane actually sits, unairworthy, at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, England, and also turns up in several episodes of Top Gear (2002).
- #008
The terrorists' headquarters stands on the site of the 1854 cholera outbreak that gave rise to epidemiology and public health.
- #009
One poster showing Elizabeth Tower being destroyed was pulled, though the tower never falls in the film. And a promotional image still used in some ads shows Lynne Jacobs (Angela Bassett) aiming a handgun, yet she never carries or fires a gun at any point.
- #010
Alex Giannini, who plays the ill-fated Italian Prime Minister, died shortly after shooting his part; the film came out five months after his death.
- #011
In the back-alley firefight before the attempt to rescue the kidnapped President, there are several very long 'takes' that capture the action continuously without a break.
- #012
London Has Fallen was one of many late-2010s films to use an extended tracking shot, which happens twice near the end, with fast pans, smoke and other tricks hiding the cuts.
- #013
The film's two heroes, Mike Banning and President Benjamin Asher, never come face to face with its main villain and mastermind, Aamir Barkawi.
- #014
Though a major character in the first film, President Asher's son Connor never appears here. When a Secret Service agent brings the President a laptop, we hear he's expecting a video call, but Asher can't take it, so we neither see nor hear Connor. Oddly, for all the times he's mentioned, no one ever says his name: he's only ever "your son" or "my son."
- #015
The final hideout is placed on the corner of Broadwick Street and Lexington Street in London, where the building is now a Prêt à Manger, and the real location looks nothing like the streets in the film.
- #016
Though billed lower (alphabetically among the "co-starring" cast), Charlotte Riley and Colin Salmon both get more screen time than several actors billed above them.
- #017
Here Aaron Eckhart plays President Asher, whom Gerard Butler's Mike Banning must protect, and Banning is thinking of quitting before a disaster forces him to see things through. In Battle: Los Angeles (2011), Eckhart's hero is likewise thinking of retiring until a disaster keeps him in it to the very end.
- #018
At the end, Mike Banning writes a resignation letter that includes his employee ID number: "Agent M. Banning unique EMP # USSS B-09877M."
- #019
Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Sean O'Bryan and Jackie Earle Haley get only about five minutes of screen time, and the first three had bigger parts in Olympus Has Fallen (2013).
- #020
According to the actors playing National Security Council members (Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Jackie Earle Haley and others), the White House situation room scenes were shot in just two days, with everyone having to react to an imaginary threat or talk to people on video screens added later.
Easter Eggs & References (1)
- #021
The German Chancellor here is a woman, a nod to Angela Merkel, who appears herself in G20 Summit footage in the next film, Angel Has Fallen (2019).
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Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work