AMC Joins Disney, WarnerMedia, And Sony In Threatening To Leave Georgia If Abortion Law Passes [Updated]

Update #3: AMC has joined CBS and NBC in threatening to pull production out of Georgia locations if the state passes the controversial and restrictive abortion law currently being considered. This would be another huge blow to the state's revenue since The Walking Dead has set up home base since the show's beginning back in 2010. The series no longer takes place in Georgia, where the story started, but production still takes place there so much that many major cast members have their own houses there. Get the full story over at Forbes.Update #2: Sony Pictures has also weighed in, saying it will "continue to monitor that process" as it makes a determination about whether or not to film in Georgia in the future. You can read the studio's statement here.Update: In a statement to Deadline, WarnerMedia has also said it will consider pulling its productions from the state of Georgia. Read the company's statement below. Our original article follows.

We operate and produce work in many states and within several countries at any given time and while that doesn't mean we agree with every position taken by a state or a country and their leaders, we do respect due process. We will watch the situation closely and if the new law holds we will reconsider Georgia as the home to any new productions. As is always the case, we will work closely with our production partners and talent to determine how and where to shoot any given project.

Disney may halt production of its films and TV shows in Georgia if the state enacts its controversial abortion law, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger said.

A ban on abortion that Georgia's Republican governor signed into law earlier this month has been cause for much uproar in the film industry, which has flocked to the state for an enticing tax credit offered to film and TV productions. But the abortion ban, which is due to take effect on January 1 if it survives court challenges, has caused several of the 455 productions that shoot in Georgia to pull out of the state. If Disney, which films many of its Marvel Studios productions like Avengers: Endgame and Black Panther in Georgia, were to pull its productions, it would be a major blow to the state's economy.

Iger told Reuters it would be "very difficult" to continue filming in Georgia if the abortion law goes into effect. The Disney CEO finally broke the House of Mouse's notable silence on the issue, which has shaken Hollywood since Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a ban on abortion after a doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat — about six weeks into a pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant — into law on May 7.

"I don't see how it's practical for us to continue to shoot there," Iger told Reuters in response to a question of whether Disney would keep filming in Georgia in the wake of the abortion ban. "I think many people who work for us will not want to work there, and we will have to heed their wishes in that regard. Right now we are watching it very carefully."

With this statement, Disney is breaking its silence on the issue, which several productions and Hollywood creatives have already taken a stance on by pulling or reconsidering their operations in Georgia. Earlier this week, Netflix said it planned to fight Georgia's abortion law and that it would "rethink" its operations there should the law be implemented. Already, at least two productions — Reed Morano's Amazon series The Power and Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo's Lionsgate feature Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar — have said they will relocate. Producers like David Simon, Christine Vachon, Mark Duplass, Neal Dodson, Nina Jacobson, and Brad Simpson have also announced that they will boycott Georgia for future productions.

Georgia has become a popular location for many film and TV productions due to a tax credit offered to companies that spend $500,000 or more on production or post production. As of 2018, more than 92,000 jobs and 455 productions currently reside in Georgia, according to the state and the Motion Picture Association of America.

However, Georgia's anti-abortion legislation could soon lose the state its revenue stream. The loss of Disney in particular, which accounts for a huge portion of the Georgia productions, would be a major blow to the state. Georgia is one of eight states to pass anti-abortion laws this year with the intention of pressuring the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that established a women's right to privacy in her choice to terminate a pregnancy.