The anticipation is building for the November 2017 release of Thor: Ragnarok, the third Thor instalment of the Marvel Studios’ franchise, filmed exclusively in Queensland with investment from Screen Queensland.

The Screen Queensland connection helped set the stage for Marvel Studios to work with the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) to present an exclusive exhibition Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe from 27 May to 3 September.

Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe will be the first major Marvel exhibition in Australia and the largest ever presented in an art museum worldwide, featuring more than 500 objects including original costumes, props, spectacular set design, costumes, concept and keyframe art and clips from the Marvel Studios’ films.

The legendary Marvel characters and their complex personas and relationships are profiled with a focus on Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk and the Avengers, alongside Doctor Strange, Ant-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

The exhibition, curated by QAGOMA’s Amanda Slack-Smith, draws on Marvel’s extensive archives to give audiences unprecedented insight into the rich fictional world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The exhibition addresses three key themes ‘The Cinematic Assembled’, ‘Decoding the Universe’ and ‘Behind the Scenes’ and it recognises the artists and creative teams behind the much-loved stories, offering a glimpse into the work of production designers, storyboarding and pre-visualisation artists, costume and prop designers, and visual effects artists.

Must-see highlights include more than 60 original Marvel Studios costumes, Tony Stark’s race car from Iron Man 2, Thor’s hammer, multiple versions of Iron Man’s armour including the imposing three-metre-tall Hulkbuster, the Eye of Agamotto from Doctor Strange, and never-before-seen items from the set of the upcoming film Thor: Ragnarok including the majestic Asgardian throne room. Interactive experiences throughout the exhibition invite visitors to delve even further into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Throughout the exhibition season a retrospective of Marvel Cinematic Universe films will screen in the Gallery’s Australian Cinémathèque and include Iron Man (2008), Marvel’s The Avengers (2012), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Doctor Strange (2016) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 (2017).

Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe has been organised by the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) in collaboration with Marvel Entertainment. The exhibition has received additional support from the Queensland Government though Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) and Arts Queensland.

For more information visit qagoma.qld.gov.au