Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh’s Wellington-based Weta FX, home of the largest single-site vfx studio in the world, has opened new facilities in Vancouver, the company’s first “dedicated visual effects office” outside of New Zealand.
With an initial staff of 75 artists and plans to expand before the end of the year, the Vancouver offices will work on a range of Weta projects, including James Cameron’s Avatar sequels, the first of which will release at the end of 2022. They are also working on a dozen other unannounced titles for various studios, having most recently wrapped work on Warner Bros. Pictures’ blockbuster feature The Batman, Disney+’s original series Moon Knight, and its Marvel cousin Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
With executive offices in New Zealand and L.A., the latter opening in late 2020, Weta’s establishment of a studio in Vancouver comes shortly after the announcement of a $1.6 billion tech deal with Unity, closed in late in 2021. According to the company, the opening of a studio in Vancouver is just one step towards the company’s larger commitment to global expansion and scaling.
