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Is there a role for the Highlands in blockbuster film?





Inverness film star Karen Gillan shooting her own movie Tupperware Party in the city last month.
Inverness film star Karen Gillan shooting her own movie Tupperware Party in the city last month.

SPECULATION is soaring that the Highlands is in line for a lucrative slice of the action when shooting begins on what has been billed as the biggest movie ever to come to Scotland.

The third film in the Marvel Avengers series – Avengers: Infinity War – will be filmed in Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Highlands according to the people behind the £400 million superhero comic-book blockbuster.

Inverness’s own silver screen star Karen Gillan, who starred in the 2014 movie Guardians of the Galaxy, is rumoured to feature.

Shooting will start on February 28 and is expected to last for six months boosting Scotland’s economy by £10 million.

A star-studded cast will jet in for the Disney and Marvel collaboration, with Hollywood superstars such as Samuel L Jackson, Robert Downey Jr and Scarlett Johansson all taking lead roles.

Ms Gillan, who shot to fame in TV series Doctor Who, shaved her head for Guardians of the Galaxy to play supervillain Nebula, the alien assassin whose mission was to destroy the Guardians as they tried to save the universe.

However, as news broke that Glasgow and Edinburgh were to be used as locations along with the Highlands it was not revealed where in the north the mega film would be shot.

The Inverness-based Highlands of Scotland Film Commission, which often assists film makers to shoot in the north, said they had so far not been involved in assisting the moviemakers to find locations.

“They may have gone to landowners direct or it might mean that they are shooting on Loch Lomond-side or the Trossachs which is not far from Glasgow and might be construed as the Highlands,” said a spokesman.

The film is being forecast to dwarf Brad Pitt’s 2011 zombie film World War Z, which had a cast of 1800 and generated £3.3 million for the Scottish economy in the 17 days it was filmed in Glasgow.

Stewart Nicol, chief executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce, said the area was receiving the impact of TV series Outlander having scenes shot in the area and from the James Bond movie Skyfall showing Glencoe.

“The impact of these blockbusters can really boost the economy, and if a film such as the Avengers is filmed up here it is a great opportunity to promote the region for what it is,” he said.

The third Avengers superheroes movie is highly anticipated after the previous two films grossed £3 billion at the box office.

It will feature superheroes including Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and the Incredible Hulk, and is due to be released in the UK in April next year.


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