20,000 US Jobs at Risk as Marvel Abandons Filming in Georgia for UK Amid Soaring Costs

Marvel is relocating much of its future slate from Georgia to the UK, a move driven by higher labour costs in Georgia and competitive British tax reliefs.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the shift includes The Fantastic Four: First Steps and planned Avengers and Spider-Man titles, with Georgia's production spending down nearly 50% over the past three years.

Marvel's decision to shift filming from Georgia to the UK spells trouble for thousands of workers as it puts approximately 20,000 US jobs at risk, casting a long shadow over the future of the American film industry.

Georgia's Film Boom Comes to an End

Georgia-based movie makers say they've been left scrambling for work as Marvel begins to end its long-standing relationship with the southern state. Dozens of TV shows and blockbuster films have been made by the Hollywood studio in Georgia recently. This includes titles such as Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2.

Georgia's content pipeline has thinned sharply: 412 productions in FY2022 fell to 273 in FY2024 and 245 in FY2025, underscoring the slowdown that crew describe as the end of a boom era.

Georgia's generous production tax credits, which offer a 20 per cent base transferable tax credit for films costing over $500,000 (£3,69,310), were the reason Marvel filmed so many scenes in the state. However, the studio has now been shifting much of its production to the United Kingdom, citing rising costs in Georgia as a reason to film overseas.

This summer's reboot of Fantastic Four was filmed in the UK, a decision that has contributed to a nearly 50 per cent drop in production spending in Georgia over the past three years, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Janine Gosselin, a 62-year-old script supervisor, told the outlet that after two decades of moving to Georgia for an overload of work with Marvel, she is now struggling to find new productions. 'You feel like a jilted lover,' she said.

The New Global Race for Production

According to Gosselin, she is not the only one whose workload has decreased; after failing to find steady work for more than a year, she was forced to borrow from her retirement plan to pay her bills.

Following the London-based production of the Fantastic Four reboot, Marvel is reportedly filming its following two Avengers films and the next Spider-Man film in London.

The sudden and steep drop in production has been a significant blow to Georgia's film industry. For instance, in the fiscal year that ended in June, the state saw only around 245 projects, a marked contrast to the 412 projects from the 2022 fiscal year.

Another factor driving the drop-off is the overall reduction in TV shows made by studios in recent years. This trend has occurred as streaming platforms have become increasingly important to their profit margins.

Since then, a significant portion of this work has shifted overseas, and the UK has become a favourite for many studios, mainly due to lower salary costs and the absence of a requirement to provide employee health insurance.

The 'Hollywood of the South' Takes a Hit

According to statistics cited by the Journal from global tracking data company ProdPro, the United Kingdom saw a 16 percent increase in movies and TV series with budgets over $40 million (£29.54 million) in 2024 compared to 2022. In contrast, the United States saw a 29 percent decline in this same area.

In 2022, Georgia's screen sector supported about 20,000 jobs, a benchmark now in jeopardy as volumes fall and tent-poles head abroad.

Georgia earned the nickname 'Hollywood of the South,' primarily because of facilities like Trilith Studios—a site with over 1,000 acres and 34 stages that served as the home base for many famous movie productions.

A Shocking Drop in Workload

According to Lenzi Sealy, who scouted locations for four Marvel projects, there was such a high volume of work that, at the height of productions, film sets were 'fighting over stages daily because there just wasn't enough room for Marvel and whatever other show was trying to film.'

Although the entertainment industry once supported nearly 20,000 jobs statewide, Trilith is now struggling to keep its stages occupied.

Can Georgia Win Back Blockbusters?

As Georgia loses its standing as a film production hub, some states have been trying to copy its tax credit system. To draw studios back to the US, Texas, New York, New Jersey, and California have all recently expanded their incentive programmes.

Local leaders point to sound stages like Trilith Studios and continuing episodic work, while states such as Texas, New York, New Jersey, and California have sweetened incentives to attract shoots. But unless costs realign, Marvel's centre of gravity looks set to remain in and around London.