'˜This is shot as Edinburgh, not as another city' says Avengers: Infinity War director

Director Joe Russo hosted a event where fans got the chance to view the opening scenes of the movie. It comes as the city gets ready to cash-in on the blockbuster to celebrate the film. Picture; Neil Hanna

The director of the upcoming film, Joe Russo, has confirmed that Edinburgh heavily features in the upcoming blockbuster.

Stars such as Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Elizabeth Olsen, Mark Ruffalo and Paul Bettany were all in the Capital for filming in the city.

Unlike the use of Glasgow, which is often used as a stand-in for other cities, (e.g Philidelphia in World War Z) Russo confirmed that the Capital is not ‘serving as another city’.

Leith warehouse becomes film studio for Avengers movie

Russo, who describes Edinburgh as one of the ‘favourite places in the world’ said: “This is shot as Edinburgh, not as another city. It is Waverley Station and the streets.

“The Royal Mile takes a big part in it, underneath the colonnades (where City Chambers is located) and back into (Parliament) Square.

“So if you’re from Edinburgh, you’ll see it - you’ll know it.

Joe Russo, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Letitia Wright, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland and Anthony Russo attending the Avengers: Infinity War UK Fan Event held at Television Studios in London. Picture; PA

“I’ve spent a lot of time here and am shocked it hasn’t been on film more as one of most beautiful cities in the world.”

Key scenes of the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War were filmed in the Capital and the director of the film has urged the Scottish government to invest in the industry to build on the anticipated success.

He also revealed that the film crew then created a replica of the roof at St Giles in a warehouse to record a fight scene

The director, who has a child who studies in the Capital, is urging the Scottish Government to build the country’s first film studio in a bid to attract more filming in the city and the country as a whole.

And after a summer of shooting in Edinburgh, he stated that with the right investment, the movie industry could become a major player in Scotland.

Key scenes for the latest instalment in the Marvel superhero franchise were shot in Edinburgh 12 months ago, and the director admitted that he would have been tempted to film more in the Capital if the right studio and production equipment was available.

He called for a studio with multiple sound stages — hangar-like buildings used for indoor set shoots to tempt more film bosses to film on location in Edinburgh.

When filming, a vast warehouse on Edinburgh’s waterfront was turned into a film studio for the blockbuster.

The former wave turbine plant in Leith Docks was hired for three months by movie giants Disney and Marvel for the £400 million production.

However, much of the film was shot elsewhere due to a need for sound studios.

The 46-year-old told the Sun: “Scotland offers a lot geographically and is criminally underutilised on film.

”What would really help Scotland is sound stages.

“You need to shoot exterior and interior sets so productions need a place to go and typically want a purpose-built facility for that.

“Then you’d just see productions set up shop in Scotland because it’s so beautiful and so unique.

“If someone was to commit to that, I’d imagine you’d pull huge films and TV shows which would park up here for months at a time.

“You just need that commitment from government to build between four and six stages as a start.”

He added that the city of Atlanta was a good example for Edinburgh to follow stating: “Atlanta has taken most of Hollywood’s work, with billions being put in the economy.”

And the claim has been met with a firm response from the Scottish Government who said that they “share the sector’s ambition to see the creation of an additional film and TV infrastructure” and “stand ready to assist in any way”.

Avengers: Infinity War is set to be one of 2018’s biggest box-office smash hits, with the directors even writing fake scripts in a bid to protect franchise secrets.