Alongside Hollywood stalwarts Pinewood, Shepperton and now Leavesden, which all have dramatic expansions underway, facilities new and old across the U.K. have been bursting at the seams. In and around London, icons such as Ealing and Elstree have been joined by the?likes of 3 Mills (Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs) (6) and the recently resurrected Twickenham (Black Mirror), while plans are afoot for a completely fresh site — Dagenham East (7) — that could accommodate 125,000 square feet of stages.
A few hours’ drive away, high-end British drama has made a home at Bristol’s Bottle Yard (Sherlock), and farther on, a growing hub for TV has formed in south Wales, where numerous facilities have sprung up, including another studio from Pinewood (Journey’s End), plus Bay Studios (Amazon’s The Collection) and the latest addition, Wolf Studios (BBC/New Line’s His Dark Materials). While Scotland has Outlander (based in Wardpark Studios), Northern Ireland’s Titanic Studios has long served as Game of Thrones’ HQ.
Meanwhile, the new $28 million, purpose-built Belfast Harbour Studios has welcomed Syfy’s Superman prequel, Krypton. “All the studios are full,” says one lm exec. “They’re all jam-packed, all the time.”
