Chris Hemsworth to lead new sci-fi thriller The Corsair Code

Chris Hemsworth has signed on to appear in the upcoming sci-fi thriller 'The Corsair Code'.

The 40-year-old actor has signed up to appear in the "high-octane, sci-fi mystery adventure", which is based on a short story by Jonathan Tropper, with the 'Adam Project' writer also penning the screenplay and producing the project through his own Tropper Ink outfit.

Chris will also serve as producer alongside his business partner Ben Grayson, 42, through their company Wilde State, and it will be made by Apple Studios after Apple Original Films acquired the rights to the movie.

The Australian star was most recently seen in George Miller's 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga', in which he starred opposite Anya Taylor-Joy as the villainous Dementus.

Reflecting on the role, the actor revealed he loved having the chance to play an antagonist after years of portraying the heroic god Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

He told SFX magazine: "It was somewhat liberating and refreshing to kind of shed the heroic Thor space and transform into something different, and not have to be restricted by the expectations of the hero, guess. The first time I read the script, I felt a huge amount of creative impulses and ideas bubbling up, and then my conversations with George.

"This went on for a couple of years before we started shooting. I never had the luxury to sit with a character for two, three years before having actually stepped on set, so there was plenty bubbling under the surface."

Despite enjoying the "departure" from Thor, the 'Transformers One' star admitted it took him quite a while to get to grips with his new villain.

He explained: "Unlike other scripts, I didn't quite know who the character was. I kept having different ideas. Then the next week, something would contradict that.

"Two weeks out from shooting, I got really nervous because I hadn't clicked on what this character was. George suggested I journal in first person as the character and see what comes up. About 1am one night, I couldn't sleep, and I grabbed my notepad and just started pen to paper and didn't think much of it.

"[I] woke up the next morning and was quite shocked by what I’d come up with in that half-sleep state. I showed it to George, and we instantly went, 'Ah, that's the direction ...' and that now informs the why of the character."