It’s been quiet in the world of Marvel LLCs and Limited Companies recently. The focus has been on Marvel’s new Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania movie and their upcoming slate. But it appears that the Disney-owned studio is making moves again as we go deeper into Phase 5 and prepare for Phase 6 and beyond. Marvel Studios just registered two new production companies in the United Kingdom in a sign that pre-production is gearing up.
Marvel to film in the UK
The new companies Marvel Studios recently set up are Royale Productions UK Limited and For All Time Productions UK Limited. Both Royale Productions and For All Time were registered with the UK government on March 20, 2023. They’re categorized as “Motion picture production activities” through their SIC code. That means these companies are for movies and will probably spend a significant amount of time filming in the UK.
We’ve written before that Marvel’s schedule is evolving and things are changing – so I want to note that while these are currently categorized as movies, it’s possible they could switch and turn into something else at a later date. All the studio would have to do is amend their filing to make it so.
With filings in the US, there’s always the dramatic wait to see if a new LLC is Marvel or if it’s something else. With these UK companies, however, it’s much more straightforward. Buried in the 40-page government filing for each is the information they’re associated with Marvel’s production arm.
These new registrations also further the trend of Marvel spreading out its production, be it for studio space or entirely different reasons. In July, we wrote about a 4Vibes Productions LTD that Marvel set up for a television show. There’s also the mysterious UK company Solve Everything LTD, which some have speculated about, but none have confirmed, for the upcoming Fantastic Four movie.
Neither Royale Productions nor For All Time Productions has a US counterpart, like some other big Marvel movies. However, we’ll keep an eye out on state filings and will indeed report if we find something.
Why does Marvel Studios use different production companies?
There are a lot of advantages to using a production company – from keeping things isolated for insurance and financial purposes to helping keep nosy folks away from film sets and casting calls.
We’ve reported extensively on Marvel’s use of LLCs and working titles. It can all get confusing, but production companies differ from working titles. A working title is typically attached to a production, and the powers that be try to keep it a secret. Think of a working title as a code name. A production company has much less secrecy associated with it. Marvel isn’t the only company in the film and TV world that does this – it’s actually pretty common practice.
If you’re curious about some recent Marvel working titles, make sure you check out writer Brian Kitson’s report on the new Wakanda series and what it is code-named.
Theories about what these Marvel production companies could be
It’s still too early to tell what projects these companies are associated with, but we can make some guesses. Marvel has a massive list of upcoming projects; those on the slate will need companies if they don’t already have them.
For All Time has a pretty direct Marvel connection. It’s the name of the sixth and final episode of the first season of Loki. That episode notoriously features He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), and judging by everything that’s happened in the MCU since, it is pretty important.
For All Time is also the tagline of the TVA, with lines up with the time theme of the production company. Is it possible this is the production company of Avengers: Kang Dynasty? Or even the Shang-Chi sequel which is rumored to be titled Wreckage of Time. Perhaps there’s a better answer that pairs better with the second one.
Royale is a little trickier to nail down. The word “royale” is associated with a king, queen, or royalty. And when folks describe something of a grand scheme – sometimes they use the word royale. It’s possible it could be the long-awaited Inhumans adaptation (writer Brian is certainly hoping it is), which focuses on the royal family of the Inhumans. But that might be a stretch.
Could these companies be associated with Avengers: Secret Wars? That certainly could be the case. There have been recent reports and rumors that the Secret Wars movie will be split into two projects (see article via Direct) – so there would be a Secret Wars I and Secret Wars II. This makes a lot of sense, especially if the second one, Royale Productions, focuses on BattleWorld, such as a Battle Royale, which is usually associated with Secret Wars.
Having For All Time Productions and Royale Productions as parent companies for those movies would undoubtedly be exciting. We don’t know because it’s still early, and we’ll have to wait until we have more information about what these could be.
Do you have any theories about what these new Marvel Studios production companies are for? Are the projects announced or unannounced? Join the conversation with us on our Discord, or share your thoughts on Twitter @MyCosmicCircus. And if you haven’t already, check out Alex Perez’s recent exclusive about some exciting Secret Invasion tidbits!
