Filming on location in Australia made Pitch Black a grueling shoot

In the interview, Twohy was asked if it was more difficult to shoot the first film or the last. He said "Pitch Black" was harder, recalling:

"'Pitch Black' was harder to shoot. And then, 'Riddick was harder to throw.' [...] Harder for the original 'Pitch Black' because we were filming in outback Australia. I had no weather coverage. It was raining on the days I was trying to make this hot and arid world Every night it rains. And we're in what they call the Moon Plains in outback Australia. We just couldn't move, and the trucks would stop. And I was falling behind on production. Two weeks into filming, I was a week behind on my shoots, so it was a much tougher shoot, and I'm also a new director, so I couldn't move as fast as I can do it now."

A "lunar plain" seems like the perfect place to photograph a desert planet landscape, with what Lonely Planet describes as "a strangely crispy, fractured surface." However, they recommend four-wheel drive, especially if it's raining. Having that particular note in the very short description of the place on the travel site says a lot. The look is great, but the backcountry isn't the most forgiving in terms of weather. Most productions shooting outdoors have weather delays factored in, but when you're already two weeks late, any delay will cause significant issues. Not only that, but Vin Diesel wasn't yet a household name in the acting world, so the stress level must have been pretty high on set.