A HOLLYWOOD blockbuster which was partly filmed in St Athan will hit the big screen next month.

Criminal - which stars Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Oldman and Gal Gadot - was partly filmed at St Athan's Super hanger and runway which was doubling as a US airbase in the action thriller.

The former MOD super hanger, which will soon be taking on another starring role as Aston Martin’s new manufacturing centre, was occupied by the Millennium Films production crew for two days in total in late 2014 and filmed over the course of 12 hours when the airfield at St Athan was not operationally required.

Millennium Films Location Manager Nick Oliver said: “Everything went totally smoothly. All the crew had an incredible time at St Athan.

"Our director was totally blown away by how epic it all looked with the aircraft set up and all the additional props to make it look like a US Airbase. We are very grateful to the Welsh Government team for all the help putting our ambitious project together.”

Criminal is one of the latest productions supported by Wales Screen which has received 1,728 production enquiries over the last five years. Approximately 300 of those were actually filmed in Wales, bringing in over £111m to the local economy.

Economy Minister Edwina Hart said: “Wales Screen has built up considerable expertise and provides invaluable assistance to productions filming in Wales. It assists both inward investment and indigenous productions on a practical basis ensuring that their spend within the Welsh economy is maximised.

“It forms a key component of the wider package of support WG provides to attract TV and film production to Wales which is now a prime location for national and international productions that spend millions of pounds in Wales annually.”

Criminal is described as a "high octane affair about a deceased CIA agent (Reynolds) whose memories and skills are implanted into an unpredictable and dangerous convict" and is released throughout the UK on April 15.