Gods of Egypt

Gods of Egypt is an upcoming American fantasy film featuring ancient Egyptian deities. The film is directed by Alex Proyas and stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Brenton Thwaites, Gerard Butler, and Geoffrey Rush. Butler plays the god of darkness Set who takes over the Egyptian empire, and Thwaites plays the mortal hero Bek who partners with the god Horus, played by Coster-Waldau, to save the world and to rescue his love.

                                     

Filming took place in Australia under the studio Summit Entertainment. While the film's production budget was $140 million, the parent company Lionsgate's financial exposure was less than $10 million due to tax incentives and pre-sales. When Lionsgate began promoting the film in November 2015, it received backlash for its predominantly white cast playing Egyptian characters. In response, Lionsgate and director Alex Proas apologized for the lack of casting diversity. Lionsgate plans to release Gods of Egypt in theaters on February 26, 2016. The film will be released in 2D and RealD 3D.

Gods of Egypt is directed by Alex Proyas based on a screenplay by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. The film was produced under Summit Entertainment. Proyas contracted with Summit in May 2012 to write the screenplay with Sazama and Sharpless and to direct the film.Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau was cast in June 2013. Gerard Butler,Geoffrey Rush, and Brenton Thwaites joined the cast toward the end of 2013. Chadwick Boseman and Elodie Yung joined the cast at the start of 2014.

Proyas filmed Gods of Egypt in Australia. A crew of 200 began pre-production in Sydney in New South Wales, and producers considered filming in Melbourne in Victoria to take advantage of the state's tax incentive. Docklands Studios Melbourne was too booked to accommodate Gods of Egypt, and producers were instead offered an airport facility for production. The Australian states New South Wales and Victoria competed to be the location of the film's production, and Summit selected NSW in February 2014. The state's deputy premier Andrew Stoner estimated that the production would add 400 jobs to the state and contribute $75 million to its economy. The union Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance filed an objection with Australia's Fair Work Commission stating that the film will adopt unfair work conditions. The union contested the production being Australian enough to receive a 40% producer rebate yet importing work conditions substandard for Australia.

Filming began on March 19, 2014 at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney. The production budget was $140 million. Jon Feltheimer, the CEO of Summit's parent companyLionsgate, said Lionsgate's financial exposure was under $10 million due to tax incentives of filming in Australia as well as foreign pre-sales.