Chris Hemsworth may be headed home, as Marvel Studios has announced that two of its upcoming pictures will film in Sydney, Australia– ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ and ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’. ‘Thor 4’ will film at the Disney-owned Fox Studios in Sydney. According to Variety, it will receive “$16.7 million (A$24.1 million) in subsidies from the Australian federal government and the New South Wales state government.” ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ also filmed in Australia, in Gold Coast, Queensland. Director Taika Waititi is a native of nearby New Zealand.
‘Shang-Chi’ will actually film first, as pre-production on ‘Thor 4’ won’t begin until March 2020, with shooting not expected to begin until August.
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New South Wales communications minister Paul Fletcher announced:
“Thor: Love and Thunder” is expected “to invest more than A$178 million ($124 million) in our economy, create up to 2,500 jobs and use the services of around 1,650 businesses.”
David Grant, VP of Marvel Studios, stated:
“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. We will be working with local educational institutions in creating internship opportunities.”
Simu Liu will portray the title character in ‘Shang-Chi’, with Awkwafina and Tony Chiu-Wai Leung also announced as starring. The film will pit Shang-Chi against The Mandarin and his crime organization the Ten Rings. That picture opens on February 21, 2021.
Tessa Thompson‘s Valkyrie returns in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’, which will chronicle her search for a Queen, as she was crowned King of New Asgard in ‘Avengers: Endgame’. Chris Hemsworth’s Thor departed for parts unknown with the Guardians of the Galaxy, but ‘Love and Thunder’ welcomes back Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, who, following the comics storylines, will become the new Thor. (Hemsworth is expected to appear in some capacity.) That picture opens on November 5, 2021.
They join the other three Marvel Phase Four movies ‘Black Widow’ (out May 1, 2020), ‘Eternals’ (November 6, 2020), and ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ (May 7, 2021).
