News| Jun 14, 2023

New Line and Warner Bros. Pictures have chosen Queensland to film Mortal Kombat 2, taking full advantage of all that the sunshine state has to offer. The production is utilising the world-renowned Village Roadshow Studios on the Gold Coast and locations around South-East Queensland.

“The state is proving to be a premier destination for filmmaking with state-of-the-art production facilities, stunning locations, and a highly skilled local workforce, making it the perfect location for this film.” 
– Todd Garner, Producer

Australian director Simon McQuoid returns to the helm of the Mortal Kombat universe with James Wan (Atomic Monster) and Todd Garner (Broken Road Productions) producing.

Pictured: Annette Bening and Sam Neill

2023 has been another bustling year for screen production in Queensland. Apples Never Fall, starring Annette Bening and Sam Neill, continues filming at Village Roadshow Studios. David Heyday and Albert Page of Universal International Studios’ Heyday Television are producing, with Matchbox Pictures handling local production, to bring Liane Moriarty’s book to life.

Season 3 of La Brea has recently completed principal photography, after the series relocated to Queensland from the state of Victoria. La Brea is the fifth production from Universal Studios Group and Matchbox Pictures since 2021 to take advantage of Screen Queensland’s Production Attraction Strategy. This Queensland Government incentive complements the Federal Location Offset, with the recent announcement of a permanent increase from 16.5% to 30% from 1 July 2023.

La Brea, Season 2. Pictured: (l-r) Eoin Macken as Gavin Harris, Zyra Gorecki as Izzy Harris. Photo by: Sarah Enticknap/NBC

Meanwhile, in tropical Far North Queensland, construction on the $12.6 million Screen Queensland Studios, Cairns development is well underway. Located close to Cairns International Airport, the facility will feature an air-conditioned sound stage, production offices, editing suites and a sound recording studio, and will be operational from early 2024.

Cairns esplanade and city, courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland

Mortal Kombat 2La Brea S3, and Apples Never Fall have been supported through the Queensland Government via Screen Queensland’s Production Attraction Strategy, which offers incentives for productions spending a minimum of A$3.5 million in the state. The productions also accessed a further incentive through the City of Gold Coast’s Screen Attraction Program. La Brea S3 received additional support through Screen Queensland’s Location Scouting Assistance and the 15% Post, Digital, Visual Effects Incentive, which is available to projects spending a minimum A$250,000 on qualifying PDV. 

Feature image: Mortal Kombat (2021). Ludi Lin as Liu Kang and Max Huang as Kung Lao. Photo credit Warner Bros. Pictures


For more information about Queensland incentives, locations and studios, contact:
Naomi Wenck
Production Attraction Director, Screen Queensland
[email protected]
+61 7 3248 0500