The Greatest of All Time

The Greatest of All Time (also marketed as GOAT) is an upcoming Indian Tamil-language science fiction action film directed by Venkat Prabhu and produced by AGS Entertainment. The film stars Vijay in dual roles while Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan, Jayaram, Sneha, Laila, Ajmal Ameer, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Vaibhav, Yogi Babu, Premgi Amaren and Yugendran play supporting roles.

The film was officially announced in May 2023 under the tentative title Thalapathy 68, as it is Vijay's 68th film in a leading role, and the official title was announced that December. Principal photography commenced in October 2023. It was shot in several locations including Chennai, Thailand, Hyderabad, Sri Lanka, Pondicherry, Thiruvananthapuram, Russia and United States. The film has music composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, cinematography handled by Siddhartha Nuni and editing by Venkat Raajen.

The Greatest of All Time is scheduled to release worldwide on 5 September 2024 in theatres.

Cast
Additionally, late actor Vijayakanth and Y. G. Mahendran will make cameo appearances, with the makers using artificial intelligence for the former.

Development
In late November 2021, Vijay, who had collaborated with director Atlee for three successful films, was reported to collaborate again with the latter for his 68th film as the lead actor. Marking their collaboration after Theri (2016), Mersal (2017), and Bigil (2019), the production process was set to begin after the director completed his commitments for his debut Hindi film, Jawan (2023). In the meantime, Vijay would work on two projects, Varisu and Leo (both 2023). On 24 December, Yuvan Shankar Raja, through X, posted a picture of himself and Vijay, which was speculated to hint a reunion in the near future after Pudhiya Geethai (2003). Reports of the collaboration between Vijay and Atlee continued throughout 2022. That December, it was reported that filming was set to commence in June 2023, as Atlee by then had completed Jawan, as the initial film's release date was 2 June 2023; but was postponed.

The following May, Atlee was confirmed to not direct the project, as he had signed another Hindi film, which became Baby John (2024). The same month, Vijay had reportedly listened to multiple scripts, which included from directors Venkat Prabhu and Gopichand Malineni. On 21 May, Vijay, through his social media pages, announced that his 68th film would be helmed by Prabhu, tentatively titled Thalapathy 68. AGS Entertainment would produce the film, while Archana Kalpathi and Aishwarya Kalapathi served as creative producers. The film was made on a budget of inr 3000000000, with Vijay receiving a reported remuneration of inr 2000000000, making him the highest-paid actor in India. In the following August, the team left for Los Angeles to use visual effects scanning to create the look of one of Vijay's characters; this technique was previously used for Fan (2016) and Indian 2 (2024). The film's official title, The Greatest of All Time, was announced on 31 December 2023.

Pre-production
A second promotional poster was released on 1 January 2024, hinting at the film being a science fiction film. Prabhu had met Vijay ten months prior to the announcement and narrated a one-liner, which the latter requested to develop. After completing the development in early-May 2023, Prabhu met Vijay again later that month and narrated the script. Vijay then 'okayed' the script and finalised him. Prabhu co-wrote the film's script dialogues with Viji, with additional screenplay written by K. Chandru and Ezhilarasu Gunasekaran. A muhurat puja was held on 2 October 2023 at Prasad Labs in Chennai with the film's cast and crew.

In mid-July 2023, Siddhartha Nuni was announced as the cinematographer, in his third Tamil film after Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu (2022) and Captain Miller (2024), marking his first film with Vijay and Prabhu. Yuvan Shankar Raja was confirmed to score the music, in his third consecutive film with the director after they had done a total of ten films. Prabhu further retained most of the crew from his previous films, including editor Venkat Raajen, production designer Rajeevan Nanbiyar, stunt choreographer Dhilip Subbarayan, art directors Sekar and Surya Rajeevan, costume designers Vasuki Bhaskar and Pallavi Singh. S. M. Venkat Manickam was appointed as the executive producer.

Casting
Vijay will be seen in a dual role as a elderly and a younger man, and would sport a clean-shaven look for one of them. Meenakshi Chaudhary and Sneha were both cast as the female leads, with the former paired opposite the younger character of Vijay, in her first collaboration with the actor, and the latter opposite the older character, reuniting with the actor after Vaseegara (2003). Prabhu Deva was confirmed to play an important role, collaborating with Vijay for the after previously directing the actor in two films, Pokkiri (2007) and Villu (2009), whilst Prashanth also joined the film in an important role, collaborating with the latter for the first time.

Laila, Vaibhav, Mohan, Jayaram, and Ajmal Ameer, Yogi Babu, VTV Ganesh, Prabhu's frequent collaborators Premgi Amaren, Aravind Akash, and Ajay Raj were announced to play prominent roles. With Babu and Ganesh making their first collaboration with Prabhu, all of their inclusion was confirmed during their presence at the muhurat puja. Ganja Karuppu revealed that he was a part of the cast in mid December, while Parvati Nair did the same the following month. Yugendran was present at the film's preliminary shooting, confirming his presence; he would act with Vijay after Thirupaachi (2005). Premalatha, the wife of late Vijayakanth, confirmed that the latter would be featured in a scene for the film with the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Y. G. Mahendran stated that he would also make a cameo appearance, during an interview with Filmibeat.

Filming
Principal photography began with the first schedule on 3 October 2023 at Prasad Labs in Chennai. A song sequence, choreographed by Raju Sundaram and picturised on Vijay, Prashanth, Deva and Ajmal, was firstly filmed. Reportedly, the makers used AI for the sequence which concluded by 9 October. The second schedule commenced in Thailand on 30 October, with Vijay joining them on 3 November. The team shot mostly at Bangkok in this schedule. Within ten days of filming, Vijay completed filming his portions for the schedule and returned back to Chennai; the makers stayed in Thailand and filmed portions not involving the actor. A minor portion was shot soon after at Prasad Labs in late November, before they moved to a film city in Hyderabad. Prabhu had reportedly united a major cast to film important sequences before the schedule ended by 27 December.

Filming resumed in Sri Lanka on 7 January 2024, following a hiatus for the New Year's. Dillip Subbarayan, in late January, stated out of five to six action sequences, four sequences had been completed filming. On 2 February, Vijay announced his retirement from films after completing one more film and his entry into politics, making this his penultimate film. Siddhartha Nuni had used three cameras to shoot a significant sequence; something he had never done before, according to him. In early February, he stated that halfway of filming was completed. A minor schedule began in Pondicherry on 5 February. A footage of Vijay, Prashanth and Deva was leaked during this schedule, and went viral on social media platforms. This led to the film's official technology security partner to warn social media users from sharing the leaked content or they would be deleted. Filming then resumed with a song sequence, which reportedly went on for a week.

In early-March, it was reported that an item number featuring Trisha was shot in Chennai. The makers had initially decided to shoot the following schedule in Morocco; however, the filming locations was instead finalised in Kerala. The schedule there was intended to begin on 16 March, but commenced two days later. After Kaavalan (2011), Vijay would make his return to Kerala for filming with this film. Therefore, the fans of his gathered in front of the airport the actor would land at. A crowd was gathered from 11am to 5pm. The schedule began filming in Greenfield International Stadium at Thiruvananthapuram. A sequence featuring at least 3000 background artists was reportedly filmed inside of the stadium. Because of his fans presence outside the stadium at midnight during filming on 21 March, Vijay paused the shooting, met and greeted with them. On the day after, the actor arranged an outside gathering there with his fans. As his usual trademark, he took a video and posted it on his social media pages. Filming for the scheduled portions was completed by 23 March.

On 7 April, the makers flew to Moscow in Russia for the following schedule. The sequence filmed at the beginning of the schedule was reported to be filmed at a school campus. A chase sequence was filmed in the schedule. Vijay returned to Chennai on 18 April to cast his vote in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The actor received an injury during filming before flying back. In mid May, the makers were reportedly spotted on their way to the United States to resume the filming. Ajmal completed filming his portions on 19 May. In late May, some sequences involving explosives were filmed in and around Puducherry, including Beach Road and Old Port. Shortly thereafter, Prabhu returned to Sri Lanka for additional shoots, albeit without Vijay, that schedule was completed in early June. The makers, including Vijay, then shortly after reunited to shoot a few pending patchworks. Patchworks were continued to be shot at Sree Gokulam Studios in Chennai for two days.

Post-production
In March 2024, Venkat Prabhu confirmed that VFX and CGI works had begun, simultaneously with filming, in Chennai and Los Angeles. He further added that the effects works would be done by five companies. Vijay began dubbing his portions in mid May and completed 50% by 14 May. Harihara Suthan is the film's visual effects supervisor, under SuthanVFX, along with B2H Studios which will be handling the digital intermediate. The Times of India reported that inr 60000000 was used on advanced de-aging technology for a ten-minute sequence featuring the younger character of Vijay. The de-aging works would be mostly handled by Lola Visual Effects. The company began their works on 16 May, which were completed within two days. Initially, the film was planned to be released in June, coinciding with Vijay's 50th birthday; however, it was delayed due to the extensive post-production and VFX works.

Music
The music and background score is composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, in his second collaboration with Vijay after Pudhiya Geethai, and tenth with Prabhu. The audio rights were purchased by T-Series for inr 260000000. Prabhu's father Gangai Amaran, Madhan Karky, Kabilan Vairamuthu and Vivek were revealed to be writing the lyrics for the tracks. Arivu was initially signed to write one track; however, due to reasons unknown, he was subsequently replaced with Vivek.

The first single, "Whistle Podu", which Yuvan stated would be a dappankuthu number, was released on 14 April 2024. The title "Whistle Podu" was perceived by some media as an allusion to the Chennai Super Kings' anthem. The song received a mixed response from fans, although some felt its reception would improve with time. Following the release of the song, a social activist filed a police complaint at Mylapore Police Station in Chennai to DGP Office, stating that the lyrical video did not feature any disclaimer on drinking or smoking and promotes drug addiction and rowdyism to the youth, demanding an action towards Vijay and ban to the song.

The second single "Chinna Chinna Kangal" was released on 22 June, coinciding with Vijay's 50th birthday. It included the vocals of Yuvan's late sister Bhavatharini, which were generated via AI. The song, however, was leaked to social media pages a few hours before the release, which leaded to the makers filling copyright notice to the accounts who were spreading the leaked footage throughout the platforms and officially releasing it earlier on 5:30pm (IST) rather than the initially planned time, 6:00pm. Despite this, the song topped the most-viewed video globally on YouTube in the past 24 hours chart.

Theatrical
The Greatest of All Time is scheduled to release worldwide on 5 September 2024 in theatres, coinciding with Ganesh Chaturthi. Apart from the original Tamil version, it is also scheduled to be released with dubbed versions in Telugu and Hindi.

Distribution
Romeo Pictures acquired the distribution rights of the film in Tamil Nadu for inr 700000000. Sree Gokulam Movies bought the distribution rights for Kerala, Romeo Pictures did so for Karnataka, and Mythri Movie Makers also did so for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Phars Films acquired the overseas distribution rights of the film and will release the film themselves in the Middle East. Ahimsa Entertainment and Hamsini Entertainment acquired distribution rights for the UK and Europe, Hamsini Entertainment for North America, Fivestar Trading for Malaysia, X Gen Studios for Singapore, and MKS Talkies for Australia and New Zealand.

Home media
The film's streaming rights were acquired by Netflix, with the platform purchasing the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada-language versions for inr 1250000000 and the Hindi-language version for inr 250000000. The satellite rights were acquired by Zee Tamil for ₹93 crore.