The landscape is changing just west of Lovers Lane in Bastrop, as Alton Butler broke ground on 204 Texas—a nearly 600-acre film studio complex local officials expect will boost the local economy.
What we know
The project by Los Angeles-based Line 204, a production rental company, experienced several delays in response to water and utility infrastructure issues in addition to permitting and regulatory hurdles. It was previously on track to open in 2025, as reported by Community Impact in July 2024.
“We’re finally moving dirt,” Butler told Community Impact.
The film studio complex will offer:
A ranch with a herd of longhornsA three-story office buildingA 50,000-square-foot warehouse with mill spaceImmersive sets where visitors can stay the nightSix 20,000-square-foot studiosStorage unitsTwo 10,000-square-foot sound stages“We looked all over Austin for a location, and then I fell in love with Bastrop … so I came here,” Butler said during a March 26 networking event in Bastrop.
Zooming in
Butler compared the structure of the film industry to that of a glacier.
“You always see that top piece, which is the actors that we see on TV,” he said. “But I would say that more than 90% of the film industry is under the water. The businesses and everything that make up the structure [are] so much bigger than that top piece.”
Also of note
Senate Bill 22, which took effect September 2025, increased funding for the Texas Movie Industry Incentive Program, or TMIIP, from $200 million to $300 million each biennium.
“Let’s be so glad the Texas Legislature did what they did,” Adena Lewis, Bastrop County’s director of tourism and economic development, said during the March 26 business networking event. “I’ve been going to senate hearings for the last five sessions to beg the Legislature to support the film industry, and almost every session there would be somebody that would say, ‘Well, this is just money for fat-cat Hollywood guys,’ and we would say, ‘No, it’s really not. It’s money for the state of Texas.’”
Adena Lewis, Bastrop County’s director of tourism and economic development, discusses the projected economic boost 204 Texas and the Texas Movie Industry Incentive Program will have on Bastrop County. (Joel Valley/Community Impact)Butler added that there are rules for TMIIP funding to ensure that money is reinvested in Texas.
“It’s not like you can go bring your film here, bring all your gear here, bring all your crew here and then film,” he said. “There’s a certain percentage that you have to hire from the local community, and more rules that benefit Texas.”
What else?
204 Texas is not the only development of its kind active in Bastrop County, as Wyldwood Studios—a 75-acre development spurred by actor Zachary Levi—is being built along FM 1209. It is estimated to cost $100 million.
“We must create a place that is valuing the excellence of entertainment and that is valuing the artists who are making that entertainment,” he said in a statement uploaded to the Wyldwood Studios website. “It’s not just building a better place for people to work. It also means that you have to give people better lives.”
The outlook
During the March 26 networking event, Lewis cited a financial analysis, which projected 204 Texas to generate approximately $1.3 billion in 10 years for the Bastrop County economy.
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