Kevin Costner to build film studio in Utah after finalizing messy divorce

If you build it, he will come.

Kevin Costner is working on his very own field of dreams following a very public divorce from his ex-wife Christine Baumgartne, which was finalized today.

The “Yellowstone” actor has partnered with a developer in southern Utah to build a $40 million film studio to St. George, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

St. George Mayor Michele Randall mentioned the project in a recent State of the City address she delivered last Tuesday.

“It’s going to be a massive, massive addition to the performing arts industry here in St. George,” Macrae Heppler, a partner in a local title company, stated in a video aired at the event.

The brand new film studio, tentatively named Territory Film Studios, will be located about 30 minutes from Utah’s Zion National Park in a 500-acre industrial complex near the St. George Regional Airport.

Brett Burgess, president of Development Solutions Group, Inc., who is partnering with the actor on the project said the project is “kind of Kevin’s passion.”

Not only will Territory Film Studios offer public tours, but according to Burgess, it will also include two sounds studios, a production warehouse for set design, office space and a “Costner-themed” restaurant that will also offer catering services.

The studio plans to “break ground” on the combined 152,750 square feet studio space, “in the spring or summer,” depending on how fast the permit processes for the new complex are completed, according to Randall as reported by The Salt Lake Tribune.

Costner, 69, is no stranger to Utah.

“The Bodyguard” star directed, produced and starred in the Western epic film “Horizon: An American Saga,” which was shot in Utah. The movie is set to hit theaters in two parts. Chapter 1 will premiere on June 28, 2024, and Chapter 2 will premiere Aug. 16, 2024. 

“Horizon is the largest film production that’s ever been filmed in Utah,” said Joyce Kelly, sales manager for the Greater Zion Convention and Tourism Office, who helped Costner find the filming sites in Utah for the series.

The four part series employed a cast and crew of more than 400 people and pumped an estimated $90 million into the St. George economy, according to The Salt lake Tribune.

“We have 4,000 students in film schools in higher education throughout Utah, and we have very little incentive for them to remain here,” she said. “So our students graduate and end up having to go elsewhere. Hopefully, our students will now be able to graduate and work on more films at the studio. And the film industry actually pays a wage that will sustain families, which is important.”