Netflix went all in on Christmas movies this year, and that includes Mary, the new epic biblical drama that began streaming today.

Directed by D.J. Caruso, with a screenplay written by Timothy Michael Hayes, Mary tells the story of the mother of Jesus Christ, from her own blessed conception to the miraculous birth of Baby Jesus. Israeli actress Noa Cohen stars as Mary, a young Jewish girl who is chosen by God to be “the vessel of the Messiah.” Israeli actor Ido Tako plays her loving husband, Joseph, and two-time Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins plays the tyrannical King Herod, who is determined to stop the coming of this rumored son of God.

An epic, biblical tale like this needed an epic, biblical setting. The actual Holy Land isn’t a great option for movie sets at the current moment, but Mary found a suitable alternative. Read on to learn about the Mary filming locations for the Netflix movie.

Netflix’s Mary was filmed on location in Morocco in early 2024.

“We chose Morocco as our primary location and traveled across the country to capture its sprawling deserts and ancient, abandoned villages over 700 years old,” director D.J. Caruso said in an interview for the Mary press notes. “Our production designer, James Merifield, did an exceptional job.”

More specifically, for King Herod’s palace in Jerusalem, Mary filmed in what Caruso called “a large set built by Sir Ridley Scott,” which was mostly likely the ancient Jerusalem set that Scott had built for his 2005 film, Kingdom of Heaven, which, like Mary, was filmed in the Ouarzazate region of Morocco.

In that same interview, Mary director Caruso went on to explain that King Herod’s second temple was filmed at a museum in Morocco, as well as an exterior set built by the production. “Herod’s Second Temple plays a key role in our story and in the unrest it caused among the Judeans,” Carsuso said. “We used an old museum as the interior base and constructed a practical exterior to anchor our scenes.”

Finally, the scenes that take place in Jesus’s birthplace, the city of Bethlehem, were filmed in the town of Chefchaouen, a city in the mountains in the northwest region of Morocco, which is famous for its beautiful blue buildings. Caruso noted that Chefchaouen “gave us striking blue hues and photogenic charm.” (Another 2024 Netflix film, Lonely Planet, also recently filmed in that Moroccan city.)

So there you have it! Whether it’s the birth of Jesus, or Laura Dern finding love late-in-life, Morocco is the place to be for Netflix movies this year.