Mad Max: Fury Roadis arguably the best action movie of the 2010s. Starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron in the lead, the film was an astonishing feat in action filmmaking. Though the oscar-winning film didn’t exactly set the box office on fire, it did enough to warrant a sequel. Fans have been demanding a follow-up film for years and finally, their wish has been granted withMad Max: Furiosa, which stars Anya Taylor-Joy.
The Mad Max prequel, titledFuriosa, is based on Charlize Theron’s eponymous character and will release in summer 2023. But it won’t star any of the actors fromFury Road. Instead,Anya Taylor-Joywill portray the role of Imperator Furiosa in her origin story. And according to Miller,Furiosawill span many years. “WhereasFury Roadessentially happened over three days and two nights, this happens over many years,” Miller said recently during a press conference.
Taylor-Joy recently sat down with herEmmaco-star Josh O’Connor on Variety’s Actors on Actors series. From O’Connor playing Prince Charles inThe Crownto Taylor-Joy’s experience on her breakout Netflix role, they talked about a multitude of things, includingAnya Taylor Joy’s projects that aren’t The Queen’s Gambit. Here is what Taylor-Joy said when O’Connor asked her when she starts filming theMad Maxprequel.
“No. I’ve got a grace period until August, and then I will be working back-to-back until mid-2023. The thing that makes me mostexcited about Furiosais, No. 1, George Miller. That brain is incredible. I’m also really excited to do something physical. To physically become something else is something that will weirdly give me a lot of peace.”
Alongside Taylor-Joy,Furiosaalso stars Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. All three have been on a tear lately. Abdul-Mateen is starring in high-profile films likeAquaman 2andThe Matrix 4. Taylor-Joy played a chess prodigy in Netflix’s Emmy frontrunnerThe Queen’s Gambitand will be next seen in Edgar Wright’s Psychological HorrorLast Night in Soho. Hemsworth is starring inThor Love and Thunderand will play Hulk Hogan in his biopic. Hemsworth and Abdul-Mateen’s roles are under wraps, though it is certain that neither of them will play Max Rockatansky. Miller returns to directFuriosawith a screenplay he co-wrote with Nico Lathouris. Why Theron and Hardy aren’t returning remains a mystery.
Tom Hardy and Charlize Therondidn’t get along while filmingFury Road. One of the reasons was a long grueling shoot in the harsh Namibian desert. After a terrible test screening, the film underwent reshoots further amplifying the toxicity between the actors. George Miller was also on the receiving side of some of Hardy’s outbursts. But, at the film’s Cannes premiere, Hardy publicly apologized to Miller.
Maybe that’s the reason whyMad Max: The Wasteland, Miller’s proposed sequel toFury Road, wasn’t greenlit by Warner Bros. Though both Hardy and Theron eventually reconciled and have expressed a desire to reprise their roles in otherMad Maxmovies. A lawsuit Miller filed against WB regarding profits fromFury Roadalso delayed the sequel. But everything seems to be on track now. WB is probably trying to determine if fans are still interested in aMad Maxmovie before going forward with other films. After all,Fury Road’sbudget was around $180 million and it barely made it back. Hopefully, Miller and WB are on the same page now and things go smoothly. We look forward to see Hardy and Theron in future Mad Max films.
Furiosastarts filming soon in Australia and will hit theatres on August 22, 2025. Stay tuned for more updates. This news comes to us fromVariety.
