As crew all over the country pack away their equipment for the festive break (apologies to those who press on regardless, bringing us the news), we thought it might be a good time to take a look at just a few highlights of the many projects due to start filming next year.

These are just some of the highlights to look out for however – you can find further details on these plus hundreds more on Production Intelligence, our online subscription database of advance and archive productions.

Film and TV drama

Feature film-wise, it is good to see the big Hollywood blockbusters just keep on coming. Features such as the Avengers: Age of Ultron and Mission: Impossible 5 are currently setting up in UK studios, so well done to all those who are working on these behemoths.

We can also look forward to Sir Ian McKellen donning the deerstalker to play Sherlock Holmes, albeit a retired version, in A Slight Trick of the Mind. From See-Saw Films, Archer Gray Productions and BBC Films, the feature is due to begin principal photography in April with director Bill Condon at the helm.

Producer Nick Barton of Harbour Pictures is bringing Arthur Ransome’s evergreen children’s classic Swallows and Amazons to the big screen; the weather-dependent shoot is currently due to be up and running in the spring. We are looking forward to providing more news very soon on this adaptation by Andrea Gibb which is set to star Dan Stevens.
 

  

UK drama is looking very healthy too, with returning favourites such as Downton Abbey (series 5), Foyle’s War (series 9), and second series of The Mill (read more from director James Hawes here), Peaky Blinders, Broadchurch, The Fall and The Village.

Of the new dramas, Wolf Hall must surely be one of the most hotly-anticipated, particularly since it was announced that Mark Rylance will be playing Thomas Cromwell in the adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s award-winning tome of the same name; the project also incorporates Mantel’s Bring up the Bodies. Shooting takes place from April in Belgium on this international co-production, on which Company Pictures holds up the UK end.

Another new drama shooting abroad is Fortitude from Tiger Aspect and Fifty Fathoms Productions. Heading mainly for Iceland, the 13 x 60 series is set in the Arctic in a small town called Fortitude, which is rocked by a murder among the close-knit community. The project marks the first co-production between Sky and Starz.

Among the many other exciting home-grown dramas all gearing up to film next year are Grantchester, Murder, No Offence, Stan And Ollie, Breakdown, In the Club, Our Girl, Remember Me, and