Captain Marvel began filming yesterday in California. We passed along some set pictures of Brie Larson preparing for her first day of filming on the film, and we were the first to break the news that it there would be a short filming period during January before production went into full swing in March. Understandably, people have been confused about it and we didn’t help matters by jumping the gun in believing the Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders set pics from the weekend were from Captain Marvel (after much communication it seems that those photos might have some connection to Captain Marvel, but are not from it).
Facts are better than speculation. Evidence is better than conjecture. Captain Marvel did begin filming yesterday in California. That statement is a fact. These photos are evidence of it:
As with all Marvel Studios productions, Captain Marvel has its own LLC. Captain Marvel’s LLC is Warbird LLC. That statement is a fact. This photo was taken from the set of Captain Marvel, it is evidence that Captain Marvel is filming.
Production will not resume on Captain Marvel until late March. That statement is a fact.
The part that seems to be confusing everyone, however, is why Captain Marvel filming now before going on hiatus until March. To be honest, we didn’t know ourselves, but we trusted our source with the original scoop. Last night, however, I went looking for understanding and I found it.
Many Marvel Studios films have filmed in Atlanta recently and Kevin Feige talked openly about wanting to return to Los Angeles to film, something they had not done since Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Last year, Feige and Marvel Studios applied for the California Film Commision’s (CFC) Tax Break 2.0. They received the tax break and on July 24th the news was released via Deadline. The CFC awarded Captain Marvel, under Warbird LLC, $20, 756,000 in tax credits. That’s a lot of money and money like that always comes with conditions.
Fortunately for us, the conditions for that money are freely available to the public and last night, I found them. At the CFC website under Program Guidelines, one can find the types of requirements that Marvel Studios and Warbird LLC are held to under Tax Break 2.0. You can read the entire thing for yourself, but to save time, I have included a screenshot of the relevant bits which come from Section IV titled, “Budget Creation and Calendar Requirements.”
What’s important is this: from the time Warbird LLC was granted the tax break (called a CAL in the document) they had 180 days to begin principal photography in California or they would lose the tax break. That is a fact. If we assume they were awarded the CAL on July 24th, that mean they had until the middle of this week to begin production of Captain Marvel (not Avengers 4 or Avengers: Infinity War) IN California. Those statements are facts. The screenshot above is evidence. Captain Marvel is filming in California. Marvel Studios would not let that $20M tax break escape them.
The next part of the document indicates that once they have begun principal photography, they can take up to a 120-day hiatus from production without any risk of losing the tax break. So, when they resume production in late-March (still a target date of March 26th), they will be well within their timeline.
These facts are why, despite (as many very astute internet experts have pointed out) not having the complete cast on location and not having the entire crew assembled, Captain Marvel absolutely began production yesterday in California. Those photos are of Brie Larson preparing for her first day of filming on Captain Marvel. Whether it be this week or next, YOU WILL see more pictures of her IN THE SUIT to provide further evidence of what took place. Hopefully, this clears up some confusion for everyone and we can all return to a happy place!
Sources: Deadline, California Film Commission
