With ‘Ahsoka’ Moving to the UK, Lucasfilm Has No Shows Set to Shoot in LA

The second season of the “Star Wars” series “Ahsoka” is moving its film production from Los Angeles to the United Kingdom, and at present, its studio Lucasfilm does not have any film or series projects currently slated to film in LA, IndieWire has confirmed.

A studio insider disputed the idea that all film and TV production for Lucasfilm would relocate to the UK, adding that no hard and fast decision has been made.

Lucasfilm has a long UK history dating back to George Lucas’ original “Star Wars” trilogy as well as films like “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” which recently wrapped and is slated for release in 2026, became the first “Star Wars” project to shoot entirely in California. The film earned one of the largest tax credits ever issued by the state, with over $21 million in conditional tax credits.

However, many streaming series on Disney+ were shot in Los Angeles County at Manhattan Beach Studios including “The Mandalorian,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and the just-released “Skeleton Crew.” Lucasfilm utilized Industrial Light & Magic’s “volume stage” technology — stages with wraparound digital LED screens encompassing the set — with technicians based on the West Coast. Other shows like “The Acolyte,” “Andor,” and “Willow,” which didn’t make use of the tech, were generally shot in the UK.

In the case of “Ahsoka” Season 2, which is tentatively set to begin filming in April 2025, IndieWire has learned the show will utilize multiple different film techniques. The first was shot entirely on volume stages.

Lucasfilm has a number of TV projects in development, but “Ahsoka” is the only Lucasfilm project in active pre-production. Lucasfilm had no comment for this story.

The UK relocation for “Ahsoka” is the latest blow to the Los Angeles film industry. The most recent report from FilmLA showed production shoot days in Los Angeles this past summer were the second-lowest they’ve ever been, with levels even lower than they were during the 2023 strikes when scripted production was largely shut down. Although 1 in 4 film industry workers live in Los Angeles, according to FilmLA, fewer than 1 in 5 scripted productions were shot here.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass recently proposed a drastic increase in the cap to the state’s annual tax credit program, raising it from its current level of $325 million to $750 million in incentives allocated for filming.

While other states such as New Jersey or Nevada are aggressively ramping up, other states such as Louisiana and Georgia — which offers one of the largest, uncapped tax credits anywhere — are fighting fight to keep their tax programs intact. Deadline reported this week that the unscripted and syndicated series “Hot Bench,” which shot in Los Angeles for 11 seasons, is moving the production to Connecticut in an effort to save $3.5 million on its $12 million annual production costs.