Hemsworth sprinkles Hollywood dust on little-known Aussie desert race
Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth and his production company, Wild State, are creating a movie about famed Australian off-road event, the Finke Desert Race.
A race quite literally in the middle of Australia, the race hit its 50th anniversary and the Hollywood star is joining in on the celebrations.
Finke Desert Race is an annual race in the community. Chris Hyde
Spanning nearly 460 kilometres of unforgiving, red-dirt desert from Alice Springs to Aputula and back again, Finke challenges bikes and rally cars to race through the middle of Australia.
Alongside the gruelling Dakar Rally, it is widely considered one of the most difficult off-road races on the planet.
And now Hemsworth will be creating a feature-length film and documentary series about the Australian motorsport icon, securing an exclusive partnership with the event.
The upcoming feature film is slated to be an F1: The Movie-esque blockbuster, reportedly following a character played by Hemsworth as he competes in the event.
It’s familiar territory for the Aussie actor, who recently tore through Australia’s red desert in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
In tandem with the scripted film, a documentary series will capture the raw reality of the event.
The documentary footage will follow freestyle motocross legend Robbie Maddison as he tackles the race for the first time.
The race boasted multiple icons in its line-up during its 50th anniversary, including Toby Price and Craig Lowndes.
In the 2026 race, six-time winner David Walsh was crowned the King of the Desert in the bike category and Alice Springs’ own Travis Robinson claimed victory on cars.
John Graham, Wild State’s head of film, spoke exclusively to Nine.com.au about flying to Alice Springs for the 50th running of Finke to experience the race first-hand.
“We’re not just making up a story that doesn’t resonate or feel authentic,” he said, explaining why his team haven spent nearly a month in Alice Springs.
Chris Hemsworth is a big fan of motorbikes. Bike Rider
“Chris Hemsworth is big into riding bikes. He grew up riding bikes, (his) kids all ride bikes. We get a lot of material in the motorsports world, on documentary and also on the scripted side.
“But this is the first time, certainly since I’ve been working with these guys, where it felt like, ‘here’s a genuine way to get involved and develop a story that is for that audience, but also can be on that audience’.
“(We can) take a world that might be specific to the audience and then present them in a way that’s digestible. And with Finke, (it) was one of these things that felt like the stars all aligning.”
Although iconic, Finke as an event has had its fair share of tragedy.
On Sunday, the race held a minute’s silence for the death of a bike competitor on day one. Spectators were also killed during the 2021 event.
Graham spoke candidly about the “danger” factor of motorsport and why it entices film producers to create scripts about it.
Finke is a race in the centre of the Australian desert. Google Maps
“From the beginning, we’ve always heard that it’s one of the most dangerous races in the world, and you would never want anything like that happening (the death of rider Matthew Bielefeld). But it also kind of reinforced in our minds how dangerous it is,” Graham explained.
“(Finke) motivates them to come back again next year and try and do better, which is also just natural, something that’s universally relatable.
“Keep trying, find something that you love, and you want to keep getting better. I think that’s what is so interesting. Risking your life every time you come back.
“I think that is a really human element to what otherwise seems like such an insane (race), these are the types of stories that at the company we look for.
“The universal human element in stories...Finke feels like a perfect fit for that.”
