Texas is building studios faster than any state outside of Georgia. In the past 18 months, the state has opened its largest production campus, announced an expansion that could dwarf it, and greenlit two new studio complexes in Central Texas. Here's where the bricks-and-mortar side of the Texas film boom actually stands.
SGS Studios, Fort Worth — Open and Already Expanding
Status: Operational since March 2025 Location: AllianceTexas development, North Fort Worth (near DFW Airport) Operators: Hillwood (Ross Perot Jr.) + Taylor Sheridan / 101 Studios Current size: 450,000 square feet — two buildings (SGS 1 & SGS 2) Capacity: 4 major productions simultaneously
SGS Studios is the largest operating film and television production campus in Texas. It opened in March 2025 with Landman Season 2 as its first production. Since then, it has housed or supported production on Lioness Season 3, The Madison, and Dutton Ranch.
Fort Worth was designated as Texas's first Media Production Development Zone (MPDZ) in December 2024, with approval from the Texas Film Commission and Texas Comptroller in January 2025. The MPDZ designation grants a sales and use tax exemption covering construction, maintenance, expansion, and renovation costs — a significant financial incentive for studio operators.
The Expansion
Here's the number that matters: five to eight times larger.
David Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios, told attendees at Fort Worth's State of the City event in October 2025 that Hillwood and 101 Studios are planning a new production campus five to eight times the size of the current 450,000-square-foot facility. Do the math: that's 2.25 to 3.6 million square feet.
For context, Pinewood Studios in Atlanta (where most Marvel films shoot) is about 700,000 square feet. Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta is 330 acres. If the SGS expansion reaches its upper range, Fort Worth would have one of the largest studio complexes in North America.
The expanded campus will include:
- Significantly more sound stage space
- An education center for crew training
- A job occupation center — matching trained crew with productions
"We don't have enough room," Glasser said. That's the kind of problem Texas wants.
No construction timeline has been announced, but the planning is active. Combined with the MPDZ tax benefits, the incentive math for this expansion is favorable.
The Economic Impact
Sheridan's productions have booked 75,000+ hotel nights in Fort Worth since 2021. Landman Season 2 set Paramount+'s streaming record with over 9 million views in its first days and was renewed for Season 3 in December 2025. The show features Fort Worth landmarks — the Stockyards, TCU, downtown, Bowie House — as integral to the story, not just backdrop.
101 Studios has partnered with Tarrant County College to develop a film crew training pipeline, and TCU students are getting hands-on experience on Sheridan productions. This is how you build a permanent production workforce, not a visiting one.
Bastrop 552 / 204 Texas — Coming This Year
Status: Under construction; first four studios targeted for completion before July 2026 Location: Bastrop, TX (~30 miles southeast of Austin) Developer: Line 204 (CEO: Alton Butler) Concept: "Film-Play-Stay" — integrated production campus with hospitality component
Bastrop 552 has been in development for years, surviving multiple delays since its 2021 City Council approval. Construction finally began in October 2024, and the project is now on a revised timeline:
- Phase 1 (204 Texas): Production studios, offices, stages. First four studios estimated complete before July 2026; all eight stages in operation by early-to-mid 2026.
- Phase 2 (Butler Ranch): Hospitality campus — lodging for cast/crew on-site, creating a self-sustaining production destination.
The concept is unique in Texas: instead of building stages in an industrial park and expecting productions to figure out housing, 204 Texas integrates lodging, dining, and production infrastructure on one campus. If it works, it becomes a model for how Texas competes with Atlanta's studio ecosystem, which also emphasizes all-in-one production campuses.
Butler has positioned this as a facility for productions of all sizes — from student films to features and episodic television.
Key question: Will productions actually book? SGS Studios had a built-in client (Sheridan's 101 Studios). 204 Texas will need to attract outside productions. The state incentive pool makes it possible; the question is execution.
Levi's Wyldwood Studios — Bastrop Corridor
Status: Broke ground late 2025; projected opening 2027 Location: Bastrop area, Central Texas
The second major studio announced for the Bastrop corridor. Details remain thin — no public square footage figures, stage counts, or confirmed operators. But the fact that two separate studio projects are developing in the same Texas county signals a market thesis: Central Texas (the corridor between Austin and Houston along Highway 71/290) is becoming a serious alternative to Austin proper for production.
Bastrop County's advantages: land is cheaper than Austin, locations range from small-town Americana to river and forest landscapes, and the 204 Texas / Wyldwood concentration creates a critical mass that could attract support vendors (equipment rental, catering, craft services, housing).
Austin Studios — Steady State
Status: Operational (long-established) Location: Mueller campus, 1901 E 51st St, Austin Operator: Austin Film Society (AFS) + City of Austin Size: 20 acres / ~200,000 sq ft
Austin Studios isn't expanding, but it isn't going anywhere either. It remains the anchor for Austin's independent film ecosystem — Richard Linklater's Detour Filmproduction is based there, alongside MPS Camera & Lighting Austin, casting offices, and production support vendors.
The Kevin Bacon film Family Movie, which premiered at SXSW 2026, was shot at Austin Studios. The facility continues to serve indie and mid-budget productions that don't need (or can't afford) the scale of SGS Studios.
What to watch: As Bastrop and Fort Worth absorb the large-scale production growth, Austin Studios' role may evolve toward being the premier indie/mid-budget facility in the state — which isn't a demotion, it's a specialization.
Virtigo Goldilocks Studio — Austin (Virtual Production)
Location: 7601 South Congress Avenue, Suite 130, Austin Focus: Virtual production (Volume stage), ICVFX, XR integration
A quiet but significant facility: Texas's first Volume studio (LED wall virtual production). Virtigo offers environment creation, live-action ICVFX, scene pre-visualization, and robotic motion control. As virtual production becomes standard for episodic TV and mid-budget features, this kind of facility becomes essential infrastructure.
Spiderwood Studios — Austin Area
Status: Operational Location: ~30 minutes from downtown Austin, along the Colorado River Size: 200+ acres (152-acre groomed backlot); 3 stage buildings
Spiderwood remains the state's best backlot option — 152 acres of diverse terrain with Colorado River access. Useful for productions that need outdoor locations with controlled access rather than permitted public locations.
The Map Is Changing
Here's the state of Texas studio infrastructure in March 2026:
| Facility | City | Size | Status | Focus | |----------|------|------|--------|-------| | SGS Studios | Fort Worth | 450K sq ft (2.25–3.6M planned) | Open; expansion planning | Large-scale TV/film | | Bastrop 552 / 204 Texas | Bastrop | 8 stages + hospitality | First 4 stages by July 2026 | All formats | | Levi's Wyldwood | Bastrop area | TBD | Groundbreaking; 2027 open | TBD | | Austin Studios | Austin | 200K sq ft | Long-established | Indie/mid-budget | | Spiderwood Studios | Austin area | 200+ acres | Open | Backlot + stages | | Virtigo Goldilocks | Austin (S. Congress) | Volume stage | Open | Virtual production |
Three years ago, Texas had Austin Studios and warehouse conversions. Today it has purpose-built, large-format studios with state incentive backing and a permanent crew pipeline in development.
The gap that remains: Houston. The Houston Feature Film Incentive Program (HFFIP) is active, but the city still lacks a purpose-built studio campus comparable to what Fort Worth and Bastrop are building. That's the next opportunity someone needs to fill.
Sources: Fort Worth Report, Community Impact, Dallas Innovates, Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News, Hillwood.com, Austin Film Society, Austin Film Commission, KERA News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram