Netflix to shoot The School for Good and Evil fantasy film in Belfast

Streaming giant Netflix is slated to produce a brand new fantasy movie in Northern Ireland, based on a best-selling book franchise by Soman Chainani.

Directed by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids), the streaming service will shoot The School for Good and Evil at Belfast Harbour Studios.

The movie adaptation of the popular books follows a group of girls and boys who are taken to an institution and trained to become fairy tale-like heroes and villains.

Soman Chainani’s first two novels, The School for Good and Evil and A World Without Princes, debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List and have been translated into 23 languages across six continents.

The new Netflix motion picture is produced by Joe Roth (Snow White and the Huntsman, Alice in Wonderland, Oz the Great and Powerful) and Jane Startz (Ella Enchanted).

"This is a challenging film to mount and their facilities offer us everything we need and so much more for a production of this size," director Feig stated.

"They have also been wonderful to work with and we can't thank them and Northern Ireland Screen enough for all their support and enthusiasm. They’ve been all Good and no Evil."

Netflix intends to use the full 125,000 square feet of studio, workshop and office space in Belfast Harbour Studios for what will be its first film.

Most of the production will be shot in Northern Ireland, with production adhering to strict Covid-19 guidelines.

"Today’s landmark announcement is a great boost for the growing creative industry sector in Northern Ireland and we are delighted to welcome Netflix to Belfast Harbour Studios for the first time," David Dobbin, chairman of Belfast Harbour, said.

"As part of Belfast Harbour’s strategy to develop a key economic hub for the region, our £20 million investment in state-of-the-art facilities at Belfast Harbour Studios continues to attract high quality global productions such as this.

"We have recently secured planning approval for a major extension to our studios and this news reinforces our confidence that high quality studio space will continue to be in demand due to the ever-increasing requirement to provide viewers with fresh new content."