George Miller has revealed the first trailer for Furiosa, his upcoming prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road. Officially titled Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the film officially hits theaters on May 24th, 2024.
The film stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Imperator Furiosa, with a supporting cast that includes Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, Nathan Jones, Angus Sampson, and Quaden Bayles.
The story, which Miller co-wrote with Fury Road collaborator Nico Lathouris, follows a young Furiosa who is “snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and into the hands of a Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. While two Tyrants war for dominance over the Citadel, Furiosa survives many trials as she plots a way back home through the Wasteland.”
The origin’s of Furiosa pre-date the filming of Fury Road, as Miller wrote an early draft as a way to assist Charlize Theron, who famously portrayed the Furiosa character in the 2015 movie. “It was purely a way of helping Charlize and explaining it to ourselves,” Miller explained in a previous interview with the New York Times.
Due to the critical and commercial success of Fury Road, Miller and Warner Bros. moved forward with Furiosa in 2020. Miller initially thought to bring back Theron as Furiosa using CGI technology, but changed his mind after seeing Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. For the longest time, I thought we could just use CG de-aging on Charlize, but I don’t think we’re nearly there yet. Despite the valiant attempts on The Irishman, I think there’s still an uncanny valley.” Instead, he cast Taylor Joy, who is perhaps best known for Emmy-nominated performance in The Queen’s Gambit.
