For those who have been keeping an eye on the Pirates of Caribbean franchise, the news that the latest installment in the bloated series, Dead Men Tell No Tales, filmed largely in Australia is not big news. That Disney scored some AUD$21 million from the Australian government for the shoot is probably less known, but certainly explains why, as Deadline reports, Disney has now made the decision to shoot one of their next massive projects, Thor: Ragnarok, in Australia as well. Of course, the last Thor film, Thor: The Dark World, was filmed almost entirely in the UK's famed Shepperton Studios, where many Marvel-based pictures are shot.

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Image via 20th Century Fox

Along with Ragnarok, Fox's hugely anticipated Alien: Paradise Lost, previously known as Prometheus 2, will also be shooting in the land of Oz under director Ridley Scott. The announcements of the film's shooting in Australia came from Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Communications & Arts Minister Mitch Fifield, and the total amount of governmental funds going into these projects is valued at some $34 million dollars American, which is certainly nothing to sniff at for movies of this size. Mind you, Ragnarok didn't even confirm it's director, What We Do in the Shadows filmmaker Taika Waititi, until quite recently, and Scott has been expectedly enigmatic with both the story of his Prometheus sequel and who exactly will be involved; to his credit, Scott has said that the film will involve an entirely new team.


To mark the occasion, native Australian and noted hammer tosser Chris Hemsworth sent a video message to mark the occasion, saying that he's "incredibly excited" and that "It’s fantastic to see the Prime Minister and the government supporting our creative industries.” Since the glut of both of these movies will be shot in studios, with ample usage of green screens and visual effects, the fact that they're shooting in a gorgeous country doesn't really matter; it's more of economical decision, as the film will now primarily employ local Australian crews, caterers, and so on and so forth. It's a good move, but it's not like either of these movies will be specifically showing off the land and atmosphere of Australia.

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Image via Marvel Studios