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UK video game and comic publisher Rebellion is setting up a film and TV studio

UK video game and comic publisher Rebellion is setting up a film and TV studio

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The company’s first projects will be a Judge Dredd TV show and a Rogue Trooper movie

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Image: Lionsgate

Video game, comic book, and book publisher Rebellion is expanding into film and television with the launch of a $100 million studio, which Variety says will serve the company’s upcoming motion picture projects.

The company purchased a former newspaper shop in Didcot, west of London, which will provide 220,000 square feet of space and a 25,000 square foot soundstage.

Rebellion is known for video games like Sniper Elite and Alien vs. Predator, as well as comic books like 2000 AD, which features its own host of characters and stories. Variety says that this new studio will be used for a pair of upcoming adaptations of the publisher’s IP: a Judge Dredd TV show, called Judge Dredd: Mega City, as well as an adaptation of another 2000 AD comic strip, Rogue Trooper, which will be helmed by Warcraft and Mute director Duncan Jones.

Variety notes that studio space is in short supply in England, with major sound stages undergoing major expansions to keep up with demand for shooting space. Speaking to Variety, Rebellion co-founder Jason Kingsley explained the decision to open its own production facility was due to that lack of space available space in the country, but also cited the company’s large catalog of “good stories,” which could help it provide material for the streaming services like Amazon and Netflix.

The rise of streaming services has led to an increasing demand for new programs to fuel subscriber growth. Companies like Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix have each poured billions into new, original productions, while Apple and Disney are expected to unveil their own platforms in the coming year. Maintaining its own studio space would allow Rebellion to keep a close eye on its properties by making them in-house, where it doesn’t have to compete for space with other projects.