Mystery movie filming at Atlanta Country Club may be Marvel film

Mar. 24—Filming of another mysterious movie is underway in a swanky east Cobb neighborhood.

Police, film crews and heavy duty equipment crowded the entrance of the Atlanta Country Club late Wednesday afternoon. A section of Atlanta Country Club Drive was cordoned off for the production, while Ponte Verda Drive and the cul-de-sac of Winged Foot Circle were completely blocked off. Neighbors trying to catch a glimpse of the commotion would drive by the scene or offer to help film crews set up Christmas decorations. Crew members appeared to be in the process of hanging up holiday decorations — from wreaths to Christmas trees to lights — across multiple houses at the front of the country club.

While on another assignment, an MDJ editor stumbled upon the set of the film. Neighbors were told the production was for a Christmas movie, but not much else. Large equipment was seen moving in and out of the country club, including a forklift, a large crane that appeared to be holding lights and other filming tools.

A Cobb County police officer, who declined to give his name, stated the project was called "Hot Christmas," and that a quick Google search under that name would garner "everything you need to know." The officer said film crews had been hauling heavy equipment in and out of the neighborhood since 7 a.m. Wednesday and would likely continue until 11 p.m.

According to Screen Rant, the Direct and the Marvel Database, "Hot Christmas" is the working title for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," and has been since 2018. Marvel has previously used working titles, such as "Group Hug" for "The Avengers" in 2012, along with "Freezer Burn" and "Frostbite" for the first two films in the Captain America trilogy.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also reported in November 2021 that production for the film was underway under the guise title "Hot Christmas." More recently, the AJC reported last week filming for a TV special, "Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special," for video streaming service Disney+, was filming in the state under the cover name "Buzzcut."

According to the Georgia Film Office's list of active productions, a feature film by the name of "Hot Christmas" is currently being filmed by Disney.

Not much is known about "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3" other than the film's major stars: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Will Poulter, Sean Gunn and Karen Gillan. In November 2021, director James Gunn announced filming on the project had begun. According to Digital Spy, Disney has set a release date of May 5, 2023.