Furiosa: Release Date, Cast, And More
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Look, almost everything may be varying degrees of bad right now, but I'm feeling oddly grateful for at least one aspect today. How lucky are we to be alive during a brief moment in time when filmmaker George Miller has already delivered a "Mad Max" sequel that is commonly regarded as one of the greatest action movies ever and, not content to stop there, is also set to deliver a "Furiosa" spin-off/prequel because why the hell not? You can count me among the loud and insufferable voices who would prefer new, original movies instead of rehashing the IPs that have been established before, but you'd have to be a special kind of cynical to see what Miller has planned for us and shrug your shoulders entirely.
"Furiosa" has an exciting lead actor to take over for Charlize Theron, an apparently ageless visionary of a director, and all the goodwill among movie fans that it can recapture the magic of "Mad Max: Fury Road" and deliver something special once more. Read on for everything you need to know about "Furiosa."
Furiosa Release Date and Where You Can Watch It
Alright, here's the biggest blow to my burst of unflappable optimism earlier. Last week we received the bad news that the release for "Furiosa" would be delayed from the originally scheduled date of June 23, 2023 to May 24, 2024, almost a year later than we anticipated. This is likely another casualty of the ongoing pandemic making it extraordinarily difficult for film sets to proceed as normal. Fortunately, "Furiosa" finally began to roll cameras (containing 35mm film) at the start of June 2022, which puts it comfortably on track for its planned release date.
What is Furiosa?
"Furiosa" will serve as a prequel to "Mad Max: Fury Road," which itself was a loose sequel to the original three Mel Gibson-starring films set in the post-apocalyptic world of Max Rockatansky. Personally, I would've been fine without ever knowing the backstory and origin of Charlize Theron's Furiosa, which in lesser hands sounds like a disaster in the making. "Lesser hands" would be the key words though, as I implicitly trust George Miller to have developed a story that justifies a trip to the character's past — especially to learn the stuff we couldn't already intuit from the events of "Fury Road." Theron unfortunately won't be back to reprise her role this time around, although maybe Miller can find a way to briefly bring her and/or Tom Hardy back somehow, perhaps in a framing device of sorts. Then again, maybe not.
In mid-June 2022, Warner Bros. unveiled the official synopsis for "Furiosa," which promises a violent conflict between two warlords of the Wasteland, and young Furiosa caught up in the middle of it all:
As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.
As the battle rages, we'll get to see some of the places that were only mentioned in "Fury Road." Unit production manager Dean Hood has revealed that Gas Town and the Bullet Farm are among the locations that will be featured in "Furiosa."
Furiosa Director, Writer, and More
George Miller returns to take his place behind the wheel for "Furiosa" after driving "Fury Road" to shiny-and-chrome glory. Miller will direct, produce, and co-write, while Nico Lathouris also returns to handle the screenplay after doing the same for the script of "Fury Road" ... which, contrary to popular belief, actually does exist.
That's not all the returning faces, however, as production designer Colin Gibson, editor Margaret Sixel, sound mixer Ben Osmo, makeup designer Lesley Vanderwalt, first assistant director PJ Voeten, and second unit director/stunt coordinator Guy Norris are all set to come along for the ride after collaborating on "Fury Road" and helping shape it into the masterpiece that it is. "Fury Road" composer Tom Holkenborg (aka Junkie XL) is also returning to provide the score for "Furiosa."
Furiosa Cast
Rising star Anya Taylor-Joy will step into Charlize Theron's shoes as Furiosa, perhaps presenting the actor's most challenging role yet considering how much Theron made it her own in "Fury Road." Joining her will also be Chris Hemsworth ("Star Trek," "Thor," "Bad Times at the El Royale") and Tom Burke ("Only God Forgives"). Burke has taken over the role that was going to be played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II ("Watchmen") before he had to exit "Furiosa" due to scheduling conflicts. We recently heard it straight from George Miller that he cast Taylor-Joy on the strength of her audition tape, which involved reciting the famous monologue from the 1976 classic, "Network." As Miller explained:
"Apart from the brilliance of the writing, it's a piece that can be done to camera. It doesn't need an acting partner. Anya did one version, which was really good. Then I gave her just a couple of simple notes about intention and she just absolutely nailed [it]. I think it was done on an iPhone. I sent it to the studio. I explained why I thought she was right for the role. I said I was really happy to talk about it but it was so persuasive that we didn't need to talk. The studio said, 'Tick.'"