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How Inferno turned Florence and Budapest into a Langdon thriller

Behind Inferno at 10: a secret codename, a recreated Padova station and a Budapest studio. Here is how the Robert Langdon finale was made.

Inferno (2016)
Trivia09 Oct 2026
ScreeningOctober 9, 2026 Running time2 min read ReviewerFilmybuff Desk

Inferno turns 10 this week, and the Tom Hanks–Ron Howard reunion is a bigger world-cinema story for Indian thriller fans. It began as a 2013 Dan Brown novel and became a production trail through Florence, Venice, Budapest and Vienna. Here is the breakdown.

Its codename was Headache

During location filming, the production codename was “Headache”, a reference to the concussion Langdon suffers early in the story. The shoot stretched from Venice and Florence to Budapest, where most of the film was planned.

The final Robert Langdon film

Inferno is the sequel to The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, and the third and final film in the Robert Langdon series. Tom Hanks reprised his role as Robert Langdon.

Howard, Hanks and Koepp signed early

On July 16, 2013, Columbia Pictures set Ron Howard to direct, with David Koepp writing the script. Imagine Entertainment was set to produce, and Tom Hanks was again set to star. Sony finalized the deal with Howard and Hanks on August 26, 2014.

Felicity Jones and Irrfan Khan joined the cast

On February 17, 2015, the studio confirmed Felicity Jones as Dr. Sienna Brooks, Omar Sy as Christoph Bruder, Irrfan Khan as Harry “The Provost” Sims, and Sidse Babett Knudsen as Elizabeth Sinskey. Ben Foster later landed the role of Bertrand Zobrist. Khan’s popularity later brought a premiere to India.

Filming began in Venice, moved to Florence

Filming began on April 27, 2015, in Venice and continued in Florence at the end of April. Outdoor scenes with Hanks were shot near the Palazzo Vecchio from May 2, and low-flying aerial shots of Florence landmarks were filmed on May 11.

Padova station was recreated elsewhere

An early trailer featured a Padova railway station sign. Locals of Padova immediately recognized the scene as recreated somewhere else.

Most of the shoot moved to Budapest

As of June 5, 2015, most of the film was planned to be shot in Budapest, Hungary, at Korda Studios. Filming wrapped on July 21, 2015.

Hans Zimmer recorded in Vienna

The score was composed and arranged by Hans Zimmer and recorded at Synchron Stage Vienna in Austria. It added another European location to a production that had already used Italy and Hungary.

India got a premiere for Irrfan Khan

The film premiered in Florence on October 8, 2016, at the New Opera Theater, and also held a premiere in India on October 13, 2016, because of the popularity of actor Irrfan Khan.

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Facts from Wikipedia: Inferno (2016 film), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Film images from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

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