The Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa is planning to make a big splash Down Under next year.
The spinoff of the 2015 blockbuster–starring Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit, Glass, Split) and Chris Hemsworth (Thor, The Avengers)–will start shooting in Australia in 2022, as reported by Deadline, in preparation for its June 23, 2023 premiere. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Candyman, Aquaman) has also signed on, playing an undisclosed role.
The Warner Bros. film will tell the backstory of Furiosa, in the years before she teamed up with Max Rockatansky. Taylor-Joy will pick up the mantle of the titular character–played by Charlize Theron in Fury Road–and Hemsworth reportedly will portray a character called Dementus, described as having “an angel’s face scarred by a deep forehead wound stitched together with shiny chrome staples.” Sounds very angelic.
Director George Miller and Hemsworth this week attended a press conference in New South Wales to confirm the spinoff will shoot there next year. Miller said Furiosa will be a “unique” part of the successful Mad Max franchise, but will still strike a familiar chord with fans. “Whereas Fury Road happened over three days and two nights,” he said, “this happens over many years.”
Taylor-Joy said she is excited to start this demanding role. “I fell in love with Furiosa–the way that Charlize presented her,” she said. “She did such an incredible job, and I can’t even think about trying to step into her shoes. It has to be something different.”
Hemsworth–who is in his native land to shoot Thor: Love and Thunder–described his part in the project as the “biggest pinch-myself moment, because I’ve grown up watching Mad Max and it’s so iconic. It is a huge honor.”
Not only that but, according to New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian, the movie will be the biggest film ever shot in Australia, and is expected to create 850 jobs and infuse $350 million into the local economy.
Furiosa–directed and co-written by Miller (with Nico Lathouris)–will aim for the same kind of big-screen success enjoyed by Fury Road, which earned $375 million worldwide on a budget of $185 million and garnered 10 Oscar nominations.
Keep reading Horror News Network for all future updates on Furiosa.
