Queensland film industry: Gold Coast loses Thor: Love and Thunder to Sydney

Marvel’s next big blockbuster has been poached from the Gold Coast, leaving civic leaders ‘extremely disappointed’.

THE Gold Coast has lost out on becoming the filming location of the new Thor film.

The Federal Government and star Chris Hemsworth announced this afternoon the big budget Marvel film would be shot at Sydney’s Fox Studios early next year.

It is understood Thor: Love and Thunder’s filming dates were incompatible with the availability of the Village Roadshow Studios which will be used for director Baz Luhrmann’s unnamed Elvis biopic.

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NSW Minister for the Arts Don Harwin, Australian actor and Thor star Chris Hemsworth and Federal Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts Paul Fletcher announcing the film today. (AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi)

The Coast had previously hosted the filming of 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok and city leaders as recently as Tuesday had been pushing for the sequel.

Mayor Tom Tate said: “This is extremely disappointing news but our film industry is thriving and we won’t miss a beat in continuing to attract blockbuster films and TV shows here.

“Our track record speaks for itself and while we would have loved to welcome the God of Thunder back to the Gold Coast, we will be very happy to instead host the King of Rock n Roll when Elvis starts filming in the near future.”

Thor returns after Avengers: Endgame.

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Gold Coast North Chamber of Commerce president Martin Brady urged the State Government to keep lobbying for big-budget movies once the Elvis film was completed.

“Obviously missing out on Thor is deeply disappointing,” he said.

“The State Government has substantially invested in the film industry, especially with the new soundstage at Oxenford.

“We certainly need more big budget films coming through here to make the most of this investment, which was a legacy of the Commonwealth Games.”

A State Government spokesperson said more productions to be filmed on the Gold Coast were being sought.

“As we look forward to Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis epic being shot on the Gold Coast, Screen Queensland is already hard at work on securing more productions to follow in Elvis’ footsteps,” the spokesperson said.

Mayor Tom Tate says he’s “extremely disappointed” to lose Thor from the Gold Coast.

Marvel announced last weekend it would release Thor: Love and Thunder in late 2021, bringing back local superstar Hemsworth in the title role and director Taika Waititi.

The pair headlined the Gold Coast-shot 2017 film Thor: Ragnarok, a global smash hit which generated more than $854 million at the global box office.

Hemsworth attended the announcement in Sydney today and said he was glad to be returning to the role.

“It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Thor in this film,” he told media.

Thor: Love and Thunder will also bring back Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie and Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Thor’s love interest who will gain the powers of the Norse god in the new film.

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Chris Hemsworth will return as Thor.

“The film is expected to invest over $178 million in our economy, create up to 2500 jobs and use the services of around, 650 businesses,” Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said today.

“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.”