Marvel to film Thor: Love and Thunder in Sydney, creating 2,500 jobs

Marvel is set to film the next instalment of its Thor film series, Thor: Love and Thunder, at Fox Studios in Sydney.

The studio’s commitment comes after the Morrison government announced a $24.1m Location Incentive Grant for the local film industry, which is supported by the New South Wales government.

Chris Hemsworth (second from right) stars as the titular character Thor

In April, Marvel and the NSW government announced an unnamed project was also set to be filmed in the Sydney Fox Studios location, which was later revealed to be Shang-Chi and the Legend of
the Ten Rings, confirmed at San Diego Comicon this week.

Marvel Studios has also announced a trainee program to further enhance the skills of Australia’s next generation of screen talent, working with students at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, the National Institute of Dramatic Arts, and tertiary institutions to target skill shortages.

Federal communications minister, Paul Fletcher, said that the production is expected to create up to 2,500 jobs in NSW.

“The film is expected to invest over $178m in our economy, create up to 2,500 jobs and use the services of around 1,650 businesses,” Fletcher said.

“Australia has an ongoing relationship with Marvel Studios, and I’m very pleased they will return to our shores again next year to take advantage of our world-leading screen industry for the next instalment of the Thor franchise.”

This month, Industrial Light and Magic, which was founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas, announced it was opening an operation in Sydney – motivated by a 10% tax incentive for the post, digital and VFX (PDV) sector introduced by the NSW Berejiklian government.

NSW minister for the arts Don Harwin said: “NSW is the complete package, offering a spectacular location and skilled technicians that can support the requirements of a major blockbuster film.

“This announcement means Marvel Studios will be producing films in Sydney for the next few years and follows the recent announcement of a new Australian studio for Industrial Light and Magic, Disney’s famed visual effects and post-production company.”

The third instalment of the Thor series – Thor: Ragnarok – was shot on Queensland’s Gold Coast in 2016, close by to star Chris Hemsworth’s home in Byron Bay.

David Grant, vice-president of Marvel Studios, said the studio was proud to be creating continuous employment opportunities in NSW.

“Following the recently announced Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Marvel Studios is pleased to announce our third tentpole feature to be produced in Australia and follows our highly positive experience from Thor: Ragnarok. Shooting Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Thor: Love and Thunder back-to-back will provide local crews with sustained, continuous employment opportunities,” Grant said.

“We will be working with local educational institutions in creating internship opportunities and would like to thank the federal arts minister Paul Fletcher and the New South Wales arts minister Don Harwin for their invaluable support.”

Debra Richards, CEO of Ausfilm, added: “Ausfilm and its membership of screen businesses applauds the Australian government and state governments for their ongoing support in attracting international productions to Australia. Without the Australian government’s Location Offset and Incentive we wouldn’t have seen the vast increase in employment opportunities for Australians thanks to footloose film and TV productions locating here.

“Productions of this size bring enormous benefit, not only through utilising Australian goods and services and driving tourism visitation through filming of our unique locations but for the domestic film and television crews providing increased opportunities for skills and training, through to investment into Australia’s screen production facilities and service companies.”

Recently, Warner Brothers announced a feature film documenting the life of Elvis Presley, which will be directed by Baz Luhrmann and filmed in Queensland. The film is expected to inject $105m into the local economy and create 900 jobs in the state.

Richards added: “In addition to Marvel Studios locating this production to Fox Studios Australia in NSW, we also have Queensland, Victoria and South Australia busy with major international productions. In Queensland, Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis feature is about to start production, Paramount’s feature Monster Problems and ABC America’s TV series Reef Break have recently wrapped; season four of Sony television’s Preacher also recently wrapped in Melbourne and ramping up production now in Adelaide is Warner Bros Mortal Kombat.”

Over last weekend, Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame overtook Avatar as the highest grossing movie in global box office history (unadjusted for inflation), after 13 weeks of release thanks to its re-release last month with additional footage. Last weekend, the film, which was the last in phase three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, took in $25,561 adding to the total of $84.2m in the Australian box office.