Transformers 4 is still slated to film in Detroit despite the city’s recent bankruptcy filing.
Construction on the film began in downtown Detroit earlier this month. Several Asian-style buildings were soon popping up in the city. The appearance of a subway car on-set led some to believe Detroit could serve as a stand-in for Chicago .
“They’ve made great progress. I remember when it was just a lot. As you can see the buildings are up and it’ll be pretty interesting and really good for the city of Detroit to have something like this,” Keith Laberatta told CBS Local .
Just as these elaborate sets were starting to come together, the city announced it was declaring bankruptcy. However, the national manager of Film Detroit recently told The Wrap that this wouldn’t stop Transformers 4 from moving forward.
The state is a separate entity from the city of Detroit, and the state will honor any agreements made. During the bankruptcy, the police, the fire department, the streetlights will all have more money allocated to keep them running, so none of that will be affected,” Karla Murray told the website.
In addition to shooting in Detroit, a large portion of Transformer 4 will be filmed in China. The Inquisitr previously reported that the country plays such a large role in the movie that it is essentially a character in the film .
“The film has a great deal to do with China. Effectively, China is a character in it. So much of the movie takes place in China and the character [Li Bingbing] plays is a Chinese national. So it’s a very natural position for her to have,” Jiaflix Enterprises president Marc Ganis explained.
Michael Bay’s sequel stars Mark Wahlberg, Jack Reynor, Nicola Peltz, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Sophia Myles, Li Bingbing, T.J. Miller, and popular Chinese actor Han Geng. The film should arrive in theaters on June 27, 2014.
Are you surprised that Transformers 4 will continue to shoot in Detroit?
[Image via Paramount Pictures / DreamWorks]