Deserted Film Sets Frozen in Hollywood History

28. Gunkanjima (Battleship Island), Japan: Skyfall’s Ruined Lair

Used as inspiration and partial backdrop for Silva’s lair in Skyfall (2012), Hashima Island—nicknamed “Battleship Island”—is a real-life ghost town off Nagasaki’s coast. Once a coal mining facility, it was abandoned in the 1970s, leaving concrete apartment blocks and narrow streets to decay in silence. Although CGI extended its on-screen role, its haunting, apocalyptic look is entirely real. Today, visitors can explore limited areas via guided tours. Gunkanjima doesn’t just feel like a Bond villain’s hideout—it is one. A real relic of industry and cinema, frozen in time and steeped in eeriness.