Alan Ritchson is returning to Queensland, Australia to start manufacturing on an untitled Amazon MGM Studios characteristic about adorned Navy SEAL hero Mike Thornton, Screen Queensland has revealed.
Principal pictures kicks off this month at Village Roadshow Studios on the Gold Coast. The challenge marks Ritchson’s return to the area following his current motion thriller “Runner,” which filmed in Brisbane and the Gold Coast in 2025.
Australian director Patrick Hughes is helming the challenge, which chronicles Thornton’s real-life survival story within the South China Sea that earned him a Congressional Medal of Honor. Ritchson, recognized for his roles in “Reacher” and “Quick X,” stars alongside Joe Cole (“Subversion,” “A Prayer Earlier than Daybreak”) and Hoa Xuande (“The Sympathizer,” “Avatar: The Final Airbender”).
Sylvester Stallone and D. Matt Geller are producing below Balboa Productions, alongside Hidden Photos’ Todd Lieberman and Alex Younger, Ritchson’s AllyCat Leisure, and Alan Rautbort. Government producers are Valerie Bleth Sharp and Mike Thornton. The screenplay was written by Mark Semos (“SEAL Workforce,” “Y: Marshals”), Ritchson and Jason Corridor (“American Sniper,” “Thank You for Your Service”).
The movie is supported by the Australian authorities via the Location Offset, the Queensland authorities via Display Queensland’s Manufacturing Attraction Technique and the Metropolis of Gold Coast’s Display Attraction Program.
The manufacturing was secured for Queensland via Display Queensland’s Manufacturing Technique and the federal authorities’s Location Offset.
Performing Minister for the Arts Tim Nicholls stated the challenge demonstrates robust momentum for display screen manufacturing within the state heading into 2026 below the Crisafulli Authorities.
“This newest challenge for Amazon MGM Studios will create employment for round 260 native solid and crew whereas injecting an estimated AUD50 million ($33.5 million) into the Queensland economic system and supporting quite a few small companies,” Nicholls stated in an announcement, including that the federal government stays dedicated to maintaining Queensland because the nation’s high vacation spot for display screen manufacturing.
Display Queensland CEO Jacqui Feeney highlighted the state’s experience with navy and water-based productions as key components within the manufacturing’s return to Queensland.
“Queensland crews have an internationally famend fame for delivering advanced motion movies and sequence and it’s improbable to begin the brand new 12 months with such an formidable manufacturing coming into Village Roadshow Studios,” Feeney stated.
Hughes stated he was excited to carry the challenge again to Australia. “The Gold Coast affords world-class crews, amenities, and areas, making it an excellent house for a manufacturing of this scale,” the “Hitman’s Spouse’s Bodyguard” director stated. “I’m thrilled to be working with Display Queensland to carry this movie to life.”
The Mike Thornton challenge joins a rising slate of Queensland-based movies for Amazon MGM Studios, together with “Balls Up,” “The Bluff,” “Voltron” and “Subversion.”
