 Eight months were spent scouting locations , including Ireland , China and Argentina , before New Zealand , Prague , Slovenia and Poland were chosen . Whereas the previous film was predominantly shot in New Zealand with a few months of filming in Central Europe , Adamson decided New Zealand lacked enough sound stages to accommodate the larger scale of the film . The decision to film most of the picture in Europe also allowed the ability to shoot during summer in both continents , although the weather turned out to be so erratic during filming that Adamson joked he had been lied to . 
