'12 Mighty Orphans' Revolves Around a Texan Football Team — But Where Was the Movie Filmed?

Directed by Ty Roberts, 12 Mighty Orphans tells the inspiring story of the Mighty Mites, a football team that rose to the top with the help of a visionary coach named Rusty Russell (Luke Wilson).

Based on Jim Dent's bestseller by the same name as well as the real-life tale, the movie revolves around a group of orphans who defeat the odds and end up playing the state championship. So, where was the movie filmed? Here's what you should know about the 12 Mighty Orphans filming locations.

True to the spirit of the beloved book, 12 Mighty Orphans was shot in the city of Fort Worth, Texas. Filming took place in surrounding cities like Weatherford and Cleburne, as well.

The real-life Mighty Mites were a group of young boys living at what was formerly known as The Masonic Home and School of Texas. The school closed in 2005.

Instead of The Masonic Home and School of Texas, the creators of 12 Mighty Orphans decided to shoot scenes taking place at the orphanage at the Texas Pythian Home in Weatherford, an institution with an equally long-spanning history.

But there's no shortage of Fort Worth landmarks featured in the movie. Some scenes were shot at the Farrington Field stadium, where, according to Fort Worth Weekly, the locker rooms made it to the background of some of the shots.

The imposing building of the Fort Worth Masonic Temple will also feature in the backdrop. In fact, some of the scenes with Treat Williams (who portrays Amon Carter in the movie) were shot here.

As Ty told Fort Worth Weekly, one problem thta production had to face came as a direct result of the well-kept stadiums found in and around Texas. To recreate the unostentatious home field of the Mighty Mites, they had to rely on CGI effects.

"These days, every Texas high school football program worth its weight has a modern stadium with turf," Ty said. "Those old stadiums are pretty nonexistent."

Additionally, the scenes capturing the Mighty Mites practice sessions were mostly shot at the Gateway Park in Fort Worth, Tex.

"There's something that happens to filmmakers when you shoot in the place where it happened," Lane Garrison, who plays Luther in 12 Mighty Orphans, told Fort Worth Weekly. "We could have shot this in Oklahoma and saved a pretty penny, but we had extras [who] went to the Masonic Home, [who] played with or against the Mites. You won't get that truth if you don't have the actual location."

Several crew members insisted that shooting the movie in Fort Worth made the most sense.

"You're not always lucky enough to shoot in the place where it happened," Luke Wilson said. "For a story this important, I was happy to be in Fort Worth."

Friday, June 11, 2021, marks the Texas-wide premiere of 12 Mighty Orphans. The movie will arrive in cinemas around the country on June 18, 2021.