24 Oct – The upcoming sequels to two Hollywood blockbusters, "Thor" and "Prometheus", are headed Down Under for the movies' filming next year. It was revealed by Julie Bishop, Foreign Minister of Australia, that the movies are set to be filmed in the country, according to Guardian, though no specific locations were named. "Australia's creative industries are well placed to take advantage of a growing global economy and I have been actively promoting Australia for the production of major international films," said Bishop, who has been busy with her business trips to Los Angeles and New York, where she met with Disney, Marvel, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, Village Roadshow and NBCUniversal. The government will invest USD34 million in order to attract the two productions, expecting a return of more than USD217 million to the Australian economy as well as creating some 3,000 new local jobs.
"Marvel's Thor: Ragnarok", the third instalment in the Thor standalone movie series, stars Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, who brushed shoulders with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull earlier this month – the latter is said to be very interested in the upcoming project. Ridley Scott, meanwhile, has always stated interest in filming the yet-to-be-titled sequel to his 2012 "Prometheus" in either Australia or Canada. He may now be veering more toward the former as his filming location. The untitled "Prometheus" sequel has yet to set a release date, while "Marvel's Thor: Ragnarok" is set to crash cinemas in November 2017.