The Hemsworth family are certainly doing pretty well for themselves. Chris Hemsworth is currently gearing up to play Thor in Kenneth Branagh’s big budget take on the Marvel superhero, and now his little brother Liam has been cast in Chuck Russell’s 3D fantasy adventure, Arabian Nights.
20-year-old Liam, who appeared in the thrillers Triangle and Knowing, and will next be seen opposite Miley Cyrus in The Last Song, will star as on a young commander who, after his king is murdered in a coup, joins forces with Sinbad, Ali Baba and the Genie from the magic lamp to rescue the queen, Scheherazade. (I’m reserving judgement, but the synopsis is vaguely painful).
With movies like Robin Hood, Prince Of Persia and Clash of The Titans expected to be big this summer, many in Hollywood are betting that period fantasy will be popular over the next few years, and Arabian Nights is just one of many live-action/CG spectacle hoping to cash in on that.
The Mask director, Chuck Russell, is planning on shooting the $70 million movie at the end of this summer, with the film hitting cinemas sometime next year.
In case you’re wondering, there’s another Hemsworth brother too, Luke, although so far has only done a few things on Aussie TV, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he heads for Hollywood soon as well.