Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced that the sequel to the blockbuster Godzilla vs. Kong will be filmed in the sunshine state later this year.
Previous films of the franchise have been shot on the Gold Coast in both 2016 and 2019 with this new production set to bring $79.2 million to the local economy according to the Queensland government. Ms Palaszczuk said that bringing these large productions to Queensland will benefit a range of industries and people.
“It’s clear our highly skilled local crew, diverse locations, and first-rate facilities [that] were definite draw cards for them to come back again, “she said.
“The production is expected to inject more than double the $36.5 million that Godzilla vs. Kong brought to the state and is a welcome boost to our economy as we recover from the impacts of the global pandemic and south-east Queensland flooding events,
“These types of productions benefit our screen industry, deliver local jobs and provide a welcome boost to our small businesses and communities in and around our production sites.”
The film will see financial investments from both the Federal and Queensland governments while it is expected the production will create 500 new jobs while 750 local extras will also be needed. Screen Queensland CEO Kylie Munnich said that the Queensland film industry is supportive of the government initiative.
“It is Screen Queensland’s role to support our strong local screen sector and provide career opportunities for homegrown talent by securing local, interstate and international productions,” she said.
People online have met the announcement with mixed reactions with one Twitter user @PeterTownsv1ille saying “How much is this costing the Queensland taxpayer, and how many public housing houses could this money have purchased”. Others have been more welcoming of the news with @ M_Academic saying “Great. Good & fun news, we need it!”.
To date over 14 productions have been brought to the Gold Coast under the governments Location Incentive which sees a financial investment in film productions. $6.3 million is set to be invested in the upcoming Godzilla vs. Kong sequel.
