Michigan Will Pay $35 Million In Incentives To Film The Batman/Superman Movie In Detroit
Contrary to rumors that the superhero crossover movie would film in Vancouver, the Michigan Film Office announced this week that the Great Lakes State will shell out $35 million in incentives for the DC Comics flick to shoot in metro Detroit.
"Detroit is a great example of a quintessential American city, and I know it will make the perfect backdrop for our movie," director and producer Zack Snyder said in a press release. "Detroit and the entire state of Michigan have been fantastic collaborators, and we are looking forward to working together on this film."
It's a hefty incentive for DC Entertainment to pour an anticipated $131 million into in-state spending. The movie expects to employ 406 Michigan workers, use approximately 500 Michigan vendors during production, drop $5.1 million on hotels, and give $3.5 million to cast and crew in per diem payments, which they will likely invest in the local economy.
The Detroit Free Press reported that the percentage rate of return on spending is greater than what Disney received for shooting "The Great and Powerful Oz" at Pontiac’s Michigan Motion Picture Studios in 2011.
Production on "Batman vs. Superman" (working title) is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2014, and the movie is slated to hit theaters in summer 2015.
The movie stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, and Diane Lane as Martha Kent.
Other notable movies filmed in Detroit include the "Transformers" trilogy, "Up In the Air," and "Gran Torino."