UNIVERSAL'S SKY STUDIOS ELSTREE HOSTS ‘WICKED,' ‘JURASSIC PARK' SEQUELS IN EXPANDING OVERSEAS PRODUCTION FOOTPRINT

With vibrant green carpets no doubt already having been sourced for its various global premieres, "Wicked" is expected to be one of the biggest movie events this winter. It certainly ticks all the necessary boxes - a major musical adaptation of one of the world's most successful stage shows and featuring an all-star cast led by the almost-EGOT Cynthia Erivo and, in her first feature-film lead role, pop princess Ariana Grande. 

But however the film - the first of a two-parter - does at the box office, it has already marked a key moment for Universal Pictures, being its first film to be shot at its major new U.K. facility, Sky Studios Elstree. 

First announced by Comcast's pay TV giant Sky in 2019, approved by local authorities in 2020 and opened for the cast and crew of "Wicked" in 2022, the newly built site - just north of London (and a stone's throw from where the original "Star Wars" shot) - is spread across 27.5 acres and 12 stages, ranging from 10,000 to 40,000 square feet. 

Sky Studios Elstree is now a central cog of Universal's grand production plans.

The fourth "Jurassic World," which Gareth Edwards is attached to direct, is currently in prep at the studios, and the rampaging dinos will soon be joined by a noted British diarist and her ensemble, with the recently announced fourth "Bridget Jones" movie due to begin shooting at the site in the coming weeks. 

"It's basically set up to a true studio level that can handle multiple projects," says Jeff LaPlante, Universal's president of physical production, who notes the facility can host "three pretty substantial movies at the same time."

While the U.K. has long been a major destination for Universal thanks to its formidable skills base and tax credits (NBCUniversal has invested more than $1.2 billion in U.K. content across film and high-end TV in the last three years alone), prior to opening Elstree it - like everyone else - had to hire whatever space it needed. And this was something that became increasingly difficult as demand across the country skyrocketed and others signed long-term studio leases, such as Disney at Pinewood and Netflix at Shepperton. 

Indeed, 2022's "Jurassic World Dominion" was the last project to shoot at Pinewood before Disney's deal came into effect, with LaPlante noting that, due to scarcity at the time, Universal had to book the space 18 months before filming began. 

"We were like an outlier that really had to fight for stages," he says. 

With Sky Studios Elstree up and running, everything has changed. "Now we always have a place to go in London, and we're going to rely internally pretty much exclusively at Sky Studios whenever possible," says LaPlante, who adds that, for every Universal film that it won't make at its studios in L.A. or Atlanta, "London is always on the list." 

But although the British capital may be a vital destination for Universal outside of the U.S., it's not the only consideration. 

In New Zealand, the studio is currently shooting Blumhouse's supernatural horror feature "Wolf Man." Across the Tasman Sea, Ryan Gosling's latest blockbuster "The Fall Guy" was shot in Australia (mostly in Sydney). John Woo's remake of his action classic "The Killer" finished shooting earlier this year in Paris. Ireland has also become a major spot, with last year's "Cocaine Bear" and recent blood-soaked horror "Abigail" filming there - "Abigail" almost entirely in an historic house in Dublin. LaPlante says another Blumhouse movie has just started filming at Ardmore Studios, just outside of Dublin, while the live-action "How to Train Your Dragon" remake is soon set to wrap in Northern Ireland's Titanic Film Studios in Belfast. 

Some of the decisions are fairly straightforward. Woo wrote "The Killer" for Paris. "The Fall Guy" is, LaPlante says, a "postcard to the city of Sydney." But others have little relation to their filming location, with LaPlante and his team deciding where it might be best to set up based on numerous variables, taking into account not only the creative aspect, but also available stages, crews and, of course, financial incentives. 

The reliance on global locations and facilities has grown steadily over the years for Universal, with there now being a roughly 50-50 split between the movies it makes in the U.S. and internationally. But it's a split expected to lean more towards international going forward, with more full-fledged studio facilities opening up and countries making their tax credits even more attractive. 

"All the places around the world are really fighting for the business, so we're looking at those opportunities everywhere," says LaPlante. 

One of the newest opportunities to emerge in recent years is Saudi Arabia, which has been heavily promoting itself as a shooting location and has opened several new facilities. For LaPlante, while it's always beneficial to have more state-of-the-art options to choose from, Saudi Arabia, alongside the United Arab Emirates across the border (where Universal shot elements of "Furious 7" in 2014) have a particular look and feel that needs to work for the script. 

"But the more places that are trying to lure us to them," he says, "the better off we all are when it comes to making content."