Season 2 of Maxton Hall has been confirmed for Amazon Prime Video. But there’s a problem: the main filming location for the series cannot be accessed for an indefinite period of time
Maxton Hall – The World Between Us has become a surprise hit on Amazon Prime Video in recent weeks, climbing to number one in the series charts in numerous countries – and as a German series at that. So it’s no wonder that the streamer has already cleared the way for season 2 and officially confirmed new episodes.
But now there is a problem that puts the future of the series in jeopardy. Marienburg Castle, which served as the main filming location for the eponymous elite college Maxton Hall in season 1, recently had to close its doors indefinitely
Maxton Hall filming location Marienburg Castle closed indefinitely
Marienburg Castle was built south of Hanover between 1858 and 1869 and has been open to visitors as a museum in recent years. In 2022, the building was used for the filming of the first season of Maxton Hall as the location for the elite college where Ruby Bell (Harriet Herbig-Matten) and James Beauford (Damian Hardung) go to school. However, as can be seen from the Visit Hannover website, the castle had to close the doors to its interior at the end of 2023.
(Harriet Herbig-Matten and Damian Hardung in Maxton Hall)
As the Hannoverische Allgemeine reported, the reason for this is the so-called dry rot, which has taken root as a fungus in the roof of the building and puts it at risk of collapse. The castle is now undergoing extensive restoration work before the public – and the film crew – can enter the interior again. However, this could take many more months and massively delay the planned filming of season 2
Can Maxton Hall season 2 be filmed without Marienburg Castle?
As Visit Hannover writes, however, the inner courtyard of the castle is not affected by the lockdown. This means that outdoor filming could probably take place without any further problems. For interior shots, however, the Marienburg could be replaced with an alternative location such as another castle or palace.
Another option would be to recreate the affected sets in a studio. While this would probably involve high costs and a huge amount of effort for the set design, the production team could save a lot of paperwork and strict requirements that make filming in a listed building possible in the first place.
