The Mad Max: Fury Road prequel, titled Mad Max: Furiosa, will focus on the origins of Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa character. The critically acclaimed Mad Max: Fury Road was released in 2015, and was the fourth installment in George Miller’s Mad Max universe. The origins of Imperator Furiosa are not fully revealed in Mad Max: Fury Road although Miller and co-writer Nick Lathouris developed full backstories for every character. Furiosa is a war captain working for leader Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) but betrays him to free Joe’s concubines and forms an alliance with Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy).
The prequel Mad Max: Furiosa is on the way for fans of the franchise. And while Max is the title character in Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa is the de facto protagonist, and the movie centers around their relationship. Mad Max: Furiosa will be directed by George Miller, who is co-writing and producing with his longtime producing partner Doug Mitchell. Because the movie is a prequel, Charlize Theron will not be returning to the role, and despite the movie not having any official images or videos released, there is a lot for fans to learn about it.
The Latest Mad Max: Furiosa News
Since the Mad Max spinoff about Furiosa has been filming, there hasn’t been a lot of time for cast members to update the press with information about the movie. While promoting her role in The Menu in late 2022, however, star Anya Taylor-Joy did make the remark that her role as Furiosa is, “the dirtiest and the bloodiest I have ever been.” While the Mad Max franchise has a reputation for showcasing the gritty violence of an apocalyptic landscape, the earlier movies in the franchise, which began in 1979, didn’t actually include a lot of on-screen violence. Mad Max: Fury Road, released in 2015, was the bloodiest, which means Furiosa might surpass that installment when it comes to violence and gore.
Pictures from filming on location also feature Taylor-Joy with a CGI sleeve over one arm, indicating Furiosa may already be missing an arm in what’s being dubbed her origin story. Viewers of Mad Max: Fury Road might have been interested in learning how Furiosa lost her arm, but that might not be part of her story here. In the past, George Miller and original Furiosa actress Charlize Theron discussed why the audience didn’t need that backstory. The loss of an arm didn’t define Furiosa but was just a part of her, and it appears that Mad Max: Furiosa could follow that same idea.
Mad Max: Furiosa Release Date
In October 2020, Mad Max: Furiosa was originally confirmed as in development and announced with a 2023 theatrical release. Delays in the production process and shuffling of the Warner Bros. release schedule, however, caused the movie to be pushed back. In September 2021, Warner Bros. announced a new release schedule for several movies, and the Mad Max spinoff was one of them. The apocalyptic-set Mad Max: Furiosa is now set to release on May 24, 2024, putting it on the screen just in time for Memorial Day weekend in the U.S., which is traditionally a big kick-off in blockbuster movie releases for the summer.
The movie will likely land on a streaming platform later that same year. Most of the Warner Bros. new releases have been on HBO Max shortly after their theatrical debuts for subscribers, but that could change with the Warner-Discovery merger as well.
Mad Max: Furiosa Cast
Anya Taylor-Joy will be taking over the part of Imperator Furiosa from Charlize Theron after George Miller announced that Theron would not be reprising her role. Taylor-Joy previously appeared in Emma and Glass., as well as the long-delayed New Mutants. Chris Hemsworth (Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman, Watchmen) were both initially announced in undisclosed roles.
Hemsworth is said to be playing Furiosa’s villain, but since the movie is thought to depict the power struggle between two potential villains, he could play either of the two characters. When Abdul-Mateen had a scheduling conflict after the movie’s filming date was pushed back, he had to leave the project. The role he vacated went to Tom Burke, known for his roles in BBC projects like the network’s recent War & Peace miniseries. Like Hemsworth, Burke could be playing either of the warlords that are part of Furiosa’s story.
There will be a pair of familiar faces in this Mad Max spinoff though. Mad Max: Furiosa will feature Nathan Jones and Angus Sampson, who played Rictus Erectus and the Organic Mechanic, respectively. Miller is also reuniting his Oscar-award-winning creative team: production designer Colin Gibson, editor Margaret Sixel, sound mixer Ben Osmo, and makeup artist Lesley Vanderwalt.
Mad Max: Furiosa Story Details
Mad Max: Furiosa will still feature Immortan Joe, but will follow Furiosa after she’s been kidnaped from the “Green Place of Many Mothers.” Furiosa ends up in a Biker Horde led by a warlord named Dementus. Dementus and his bikers travel through the Wasteland, only to find the Citadel where Immortan Joe is in charge. Furiosa will be caught in their battle for power in the movie.
Though the audience knows where Furiosa ends up Mad Max: Fury Road, the journey to get there will still be an interesting one. Despite the rough and immoral nature of the Wasteland, Furiosa still holds her morals intact and strives to protect those around her. Mad Max: Furiosa will help the audience see how she maintains the strength to do so.
Mad Max: Furiosa Trailer
Because Mad Max: Furiosa is still in post-production, and another Mad Max movie hasn’t been filmed yet, there isn’t yet a trailer for any new Mad Max movies yet. With a release for Mad Max: Furiosa in mid-2024, there’s a good chance that fans will get, at the very least, a teaser trailer by the end of 2023. A full-length trailer for the Mad Max spinoff for Furiosa will likely land in early 2024.
Will There Be More Mad Max Movies?
While George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, and Nico Lathouris worked on Mad Max: Fury Road, they had a lot of extra material that didn’t make it into the final script. That extra material was worked into two scripts, one for the Mad Max: Furiosa spinoff, and another for a project with the working title Mad Max: Wasteland. Wasteland might not end up as the final title of the script, and there’s no word yet on what the movie will be about other than it’s set to be a sequel to Fury Road. So, there will be at least one other movie in the Mad Max universe.