Hawaii — long prized for its cinematic coastlines and lush tropical vistas — is taking a major step toward becoming more than just a location. Hawaii Studio Group has unveiled plans for a $125 million purpose-built studio campus in Kapolei, a rapidly expanding city about 20 miles west of Honolulu and adjacent to the University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu.
If approved, the project would mark the most significant expansion of indoor stage space in state history. The first phase calls for four 18,000-square-foot soundstages, production offices, a set-construction mill, and a mix of retail and commercial space designed to create a fully integrated, studio-anchored district. Phased openings are currently targeted to begin in 2028.
Indoor stage space has long been Hawaii’s weak spot. The state-owned Hawaii Film Studio in Honolulu offers just 16,500 square feet of soundstage capacity — a constraint that has forced many major productions to split shoots between the islands’ famous exteriors and mainland soundstages.
Chancellor Maenette Benham of UH West Oʻahu said the new project “ties real estate value, workforce development and production infrastructure into one campus.” Under a ground-lease model, the land remains under university ownership while Hawaii Studio Group designs, finances, builds and operates the facility. A public-facing town square with retail and lodging is planned at the entrance, while secured production operations sit behind the gate.
The developer group brings significant experience: Island Film Group, which has backed more than 100 Hawaiʻi-shot projects; global studio-campus veteran Stephan D. Smith; and Hawaii Media Inc., the state’s largest film-equipment rental supplier.
Why the Islands Need This
Hawaii’s screen legacy is long — from “Blue Crush” and “50 First Dates” to “Jurassic World” — but those productions underscore a fundamental gap. Without modern, weather-proof stages, Hawaii is often relegated to exterior work while interiors and complex builds shift to Los Angeles, Atlanta or Vancouver. Backers say that dynamic is costing the state year-round jobs, economic return and the ability to keep full productions on-island.
Hawaii’s incentive program offers 22% refundable credits on Oahu and up to 27% on the neighbor islands, but that competitive edge can be blunted without the proper infrastructure. In 2023, statewide qualified production spend reached $168.7 million across 25 projects — far below the billions drawn to incentive heavyweights like Georgia and New Mexico.
Supporters argue the Kapolei campus is the missing link: a modern facility capable of hosting multi-episode series, effects-heavy features, and year-round productions that traditionally bypass the islands due to lack of stages.
A Brief Note on the National Studio Race
Hawaii’s move comes as states across the U.S. race to add capacity. New York just debuted Pier94 Studios in Manhattan, while Queens has added new facilities such as East End Studios Sunnyside and Borden Studios. New Jersey continues its rapid climb with 1888 Studios and Netflix’s Fort Monmouth campus underway. In Los Angeles, long overdue expansions include Echelon Studios in Hollywood and a new Arts District campus from East End Studios.
Against that backdrop, Hawaii’s Kapolei project represents something distinct — an effort to finally match the islands’ world-class locations with world-class production facilities.
What Comes Next
The project is now moving through approvals, with environmental, design and community-integration work underway. If it proceeds on schedule, Hawaii would, for the first time, have the indoor capacity needed to keep large-scale productions entirely on island — and to build a sustainable, year-round production workforce.
For a state with one of the most iconic backdrops in the world, Kapolei marks the long-awaited chance to become a full-service filmmaking destination, not just the perfect exterior.
