Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds is investing big in his home country’s production sector by building a 1.2 million square foot production hub in the city of Markham, located in the Greater Toronto Area.
Maximum Effort, a production and advertising company co-founded by the Deadpool star, is part of an ownership group building the studio.
“Maximum Effort has grown in ways and directions that we’ve never imagined,” Reynolds told Variety.
“To be launching a fund and building a 1.2 million square foot studio facility in Ontario is both mind-boggling and humbling. Regardless, I’m excited to expand our storytelling capabilities in new directions and to bring more production work to Ontario.”
2022 was a record-breaking year for Ontario productions, raking in more than $3 billion for the economy and supporting 46,000 jobs, Ontario’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport Neil Lumsden said in the legislature on Monday.
Lumsden noted Reynolds’ proposed investment in the sector, stating: “There are more than just a few people who have confidence in Ontario and what we’re doing.”
Per Variety, if completed the new studio will be the largest film and TV production hub in Canada.
It is described as a fully integrated production studio for film, scripted and unscripted reality television, drama series, live-action and animated feature films. It will also include a technical incubator and a “virtual production campus” providing vocational training.
It is unclear when the production facility will be completed and operational.
A spokesperson for the City of Markham told the Toronto Star to date there has been no formal submission for the proposed studio.
“There have been preliminary discussions with various proponents expressing interest in developing facilities in the City of Markham,” the spokesperson told the newspaper.
“The City of Markham looks forward to receiving a development application as we prioritize the approval of these major investments.”
Reynolds has become quite the entrepreneur in recent years, with his investments ranging from gin to telecommunications to co-ownership of Welsh soccer club Wrexham.
As a part-owner of Mint Mobile, he is set to take home about $300 million in cash and stock from the sale of the budget wireless provider to T-Mobile, which was announced earlier this month.
Contact the author at emily.jarvie@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter @emilyjjarvie