Written by Tom Deehan on Feb 3, 2016. Posted in On Location / Production News

Third Wolverine film to be shot in New Orleans and New Mexico

The third Wolverine-centric spin-off film is to begin filming in New Orleans and New Mexico, with principal photography commencing April 25^th. The film will be directed by James Mangold (The Wolverine) and will see Hugh Jackman return to the titular role alongside co-star Patrick Stewart.

The aforementioned choice of locations marks a change for the series which has previously filmed on a worldwide scale. X-Men Origins: Wolverine travelled to Sydney and New Zealand whereas The Wolverine made the trip to Japan.

Both New Orleans and New Mexico are widely recognised as two of the most popular filming locations in the United States. New Mexico’s filmed industry has flourished in recent years due to the success of AMC’s crime drama Breaking Bad and its prequel Better Call Saul. New Orleans on the other hand has drawn in major box office hits like Jurassic World and Terminator: Genisys.

It is expected that New Mexico will attract more productions towards to the end of 2016 as the city of Santa Fe will open its own film office. Santa Fe has already catered for major productions including The Ridiculous 6, but the new office is likely to alleviate the process of obtaining permits for any future productions.

New Mexico offers a competitive financial incentive of up to 30% in tax credits with no minimum expenditure, but with the requirement that at least one day must be spent filming within the state. Similarly the state of Louisiana offers 40% in tax credits but requires a minimum spend of USD300,000.

The news about the upcoming Wolverine film emerged alongside confirmation that the long awaited sequel to James Cameron’s Avatar will film on location in New Zealand, after previous rumours that a delay in organising an incentives programme could send the production elsewhere.