It looks like Las Vegas very well could be the future home of some high profile movie studios.
One of the more popular headlines this year has been the relocation of celebrity Mark Wahlberg to Las Vegas. Wahlberg famously brought his family to Vegas for a better life. And since his relocation, Wahlberg has been doing film projects in Southern Nevada.
Well, apparently, Wahlberg is pretty impressed with the film industry in Sin City. He believes we have a lot of talent in Las Vegas. He’s so impressed that he believes Southern Nevada should be home to its own movie studios. And we’re not just talking about the independent ones. Big names like Disney and Sony have been dropped.
On Wednesday, Wahlberg was in Carson City to lobby for a new bill that would expand Nevada‘s film tax credit program, thenevadaindependent.com reported. The bill would allow for new studio projects in Las Vegas for the next 20 years. It would also give big tax breaks to companies who film movies and television shows in Nevada.
One such project would be a new studio built in Summerlin. Located near the I-215 and Hualapai Way, the studio would be in partnership with the Howard Hughes Corp. Another studio, called the “Zone One” project, would be built near the I-215 and Durango. That project, lead by California real estate developer, Brandon Birtcher, is already in negotiations with big studio companies, including Sony and Disney (ktnv.com).
There are a few more steps before Sin City gets its own movie studio.
Currently the new bill has only gone before the Senate Finance Committee. It would still need to pass through the Senate and State Assembly. The final step for approval would be a signature from Governor Joe Lombardo.
Fans of both Sony and Disney are excited about the potential of having projects done in Las Vegas. For the 6,800 jobs it will provide and for the industry stars it will bring to Southern Nevada. And just to give you an idea, that could mean us being the home to some of these famous franchises. – Wendy Rush
Spiderman
Sony is always coming up with new sequels or spin-offs to the Spiderman franchise. Any one or more of them could be filmed in Vegas with a Sony studio.
Ghostbusters
The Ghostbusters franchise is Sony property. So any sequels (or the animated version series) is fair game for a Sony studio in Vegas. I don’t know about you, but anything that might bring Bill Murray to Vegas is a win in my book.
Karate Kid
The Karate Kid franchise is done by Columbia Pictures, which is a division of Sony. So any sequels or spin-offs, like the Cobra Kai series, could potentially be filmed in Las Vegas.
Frozen
No, there hasn’t been a Frozen 4 announced, yet. But with Frozen 3 coming out, it could happen. And it could be done in Vegas if we have a Disney studio by then. Something tells me Kristen Bell could cause some serious shenanigans on the strip if she was here.
Inside Out
Same thing with Inside Out. Disney is working on 2 right now. If 3 is next, we might have a studio in Vegas by then to host it.
Toy Story
I think we can all agree that the Toy Story franchise is going to keep going until the end of time. In that case, maybe Tom Hanks and Tim Allen will be new Las Vegas residents.
Jumanji
I would personally like to cast my vote for both Jack Black, Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson being in Las Vegas for an extended period of time. Sony owns the Jumanji franchise, so we could be seeing it happen in the future.
James Bond
After what happened in the last James Bond movie (SPOILER ALERT), not sure if we’ll see Daniel Craig in Vegas filming the next Bond movie. But whoever is, it would be awesome to have this franchise being filmed down the street! If there’s a Sony studio here, it’s possible.
