“Avengers” star Chris Hemsworth is to play an undercover detective in a US$40 million (RM167 million) comedy about two mismatched cops investigating a series of casino heists, the distributors told media at Cannes on Sunday.

Entitled “Down Under Cover”, the film has been snapped up by Paramount with production expected to start in February.

The picture casts the Australian actor opposite fast-rising comedy star Tiffany Haddish, with the ill-suited pair thrown together in an investigation in which the main suspects happen to be a troupe of Australian male erotic dancers.

Paramount has pledged a budget of US$40 million, with production expected to start in February.

Brothers Anthony and Joe Russo, who directed “Avengers: Endgame” are producing, with the script written by Peter Hoare. A director has not yet been chosen.

Hemsworth, 35, played Thor in the Avengers franchise, while 39-year-old Haddish made her breakthrough in 2017 with “Girls Trip”, a comedy in which she plays a loud-mouthed but endearing friend.