Disney’s Marvel Studios is pulling the plug on Georgia as a production hub, and the fallout is already being felt across the state. Once hailed as the “Hollywood of the South,” Georgia built its entertainment economy around Marvel blockbusters like Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Black Panther.
Chris Evans as Captain America in Captain America: Civil War (2016), Marvel Studios
Now, as Marvel shifts upcoming films overseas, thousands of American jobs are evaporating on Disney’s orders.
From Hollywood of the South to Empty Soundstages
Marvel’s next slate of productions—including the next Spider-Man entry, and upcoming Avengers films—will no longer film in Georgia. Instead, Disney is moving these projects to the United Kingdom. The Wall Street Journal reports that production spending in Georgia has nearly halved over the past three years, with projects dropping from 412 in fiscal 2022 to just 245 in the most recent year.
Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man and Don Cheadle as War Machine in Captain America: Civil War (2016), Marvel Studios
Behind those numbers are real livelihoods. Workers who once relied on Marvel’s steady pipeline of projects are struggling. Script supervisor Janine Gosselin told the Wall Street Journal that she’s had to borrow from her retirement savings just to make ends meet. Others in the industry describe a devastated workforce, with one crew veteran on Reddit calling the situation “an absolute bloodbath… film work is well and truly f***ed with no recovery in sight.”
For a state that invested heavily in tax credits and infrastructure to attract Disney and Marvel, the exit feels like betrayal. Georgia helped make Marvel’s billion-dollar blockbusters possible. In return, the studio is now chasing lower labor costs overseas—where employers don’t shoulder health care expenses and unions are less powerful.
Disney Chooses UK over the United States
The decision reflects a bigger shift inside Disney. The company is looking to trim costs after years of overproduction left Marvel films and series diluted, both in quality and profitability. Moving tentpole productions to London and Pinewood Studios helps Disney save money, but it comes at the direct expense of American workers who built the MCU into the powerhouse it is today.
Hayley Atwell as Captain Carter in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – Disney+
The irony? Disney brands itself as America’s storyteller, the entertainment empire founded in California and expanded across the United States. Yet when it comes to the bottom line, the company is exporting what was once its crown jewel to foreign soil.
For many in Georgia, it’s a slap in the face.
Trump’s Tariff Threat Looms
President Donald Trump has already floated a potential remedy: tariffs on overseas films. Back in May, he announced plans for a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the United States. He described the move as a way to bring Hollywood home, protect American jobs, and ensure that the U.S. film industry isn’t hollowed out by outsourcing.
The Nexus Mod of Donald Trump as Captain America in Marvel Rivals – YouTube, AsmonGold Clips
Details remain unclear, and the policy has yet to be enacted. But the mere threat of tariffs rattled media stocks earlier this year and sparked debate across Hollywood. Would studios like Disney think twice about shifting productions overseas if it meant facing steep penalties to re-import those films for U.S. audiences?
It’s an open question, but one thing is clear: Trump’s proposal directly addresses the anger and anxiety of American workers who feel abandoned by the very studios they built into global giants. For now, however, Trump has not issued a new statement on Marvel’s exit from Georgia.
A Blow to the Middle Class
Beyond Hollywood executives and Disney shareholders, this is a middle-class issue. Georgia’s entertainment sector supported nearly 20,000 jobs at its peak. That included not just camera crews and actors but carpenters, electricians, caterers, and countless small businesses that thrived because productions were in town.
When Marvel leaves, so do the paychecks that sustained families and communities.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JULY 25: Kevin Feige speaks during the ceremony honoring him with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California on July 25, 2024 . (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Disney)
And unlike top-billed stars, these workers don’t have the luxury of simply moving overseas. They’re rooted in Georgia, trained in their craft, and dependent on local projects. Losing Marvel means losing stability.
What Comes Next?
The Marvel exodus raises larger questions:
- Should states double down on tax incentives to keep productions at home, even if it means offering Hollywood sweetheart deals?
- Should the federal government intervene to protect American jobs in the entertainment industry, just as it does for manufacturing and agriculture?
- And will tariffs on overseas films, as Trump has suggested, become the tool that forces Disney and Marvel to keep their blockbusters American-made?
As of now, the answers remain uncertain. What isn’t uncertain is the damage already done. Georgia rolled out the red carpet for Marvel, and in return, Disney rolled up that carpet and carried it across the Atlantic.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 27: (L-R) Louis D’Esposito, Co-President, Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, President, Marvel Studios, Robert Downey Jr., Joe Russo and Anthony Russo attend the Marvel Studios Panel in Hall H at SDCC in San Diego, California on July 27, 2024. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
For many Americans, the symbolism is hard to miss: while Marvel heroes fight to save fictional worlds on screen, the studio itself is abandoning the real-world workers who once helped make movie magic possible.
How do you feel about Marvel leaving Georgia? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
