Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
is a future post-apocalyptic action adventure movie that George Miller and Nico Lathouris co-wrote, produced, and directed. As a precursor and spin-off to Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), it is the fifth entry in the Mad Max series. Anya Taylor-Joy plays the title role of Imperator Furiosa in the movie, which also stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, and Alyla Browne.
Miller held casting calls for the movie’s lead role in March 2020. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Hemsworth, and Taylor-Joy were all cast in leading parts in October; however, in November, Abdul-Mateen was replaced by Burke because of a scheduling difficulty. Screenwriter Lathouris, film editor Margaret Sixel, costume designer Jenny Beavan, and composer Tom Holkenborg were among the team members who made a comeback for Fury Road. The main photography was conducted in Australia between June and October of 2022.
On May 15, 2024, Furiosa will make its global premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. On May 23, 2024, Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures will distribute the film in Australian theaters, and the next day, it will be released in theaters across the United States.
Premise
Young Furiosa is abducted from the Green Place of Many Mothers and given up to a Biker Horde under the command of the Warlord Dementus, set 15–20 years before the events of Mad Max: Fury Road, as the world falls apart. As Furiosa designs a route back home via the Wasteland, she endures numerous difficulties while two Tyrants struggle for control of the Citadel.
Cast
- Anya Taylor-Joy as Imperator Furiosa
- Alyla Browne as young Furiosa
- Chris Hemsworth as Warlord Dementus
- Tom Burke as Praetorian Jack[2]
- Lachy Hulme as Immortan Joe / Rizzdale Pell
- Nathan Jones as Rictus Erectus
- John Howard as The People Eater
- Angus Sampson as The Organic Mechanic
- Charlee Fraser as Mary Jo Bassa, Furiosa’s mother[3]
- Quaden Bayles
- Daniel Webber as War Boy
Pre-production
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) was written over a 15-year period by director George Miller and co-writer Nick Lauthoris, who created backstories for each character, with a special emphasis on the main character Imperator Furiosa.[4] Eventually, this resulted in a screenplay about Furiosa, which was utilized as inspiration by actress Charlize Theron, who played Furiosa in Fury Road, for her role in the movie.[5] July 2010. Mad Max: Furiosa is a prequel movie that Miller had planned to film concurrently with Fury Road, but it was ultimately decided to shoot the former only in pre-production.[6] Due to unpaid compensation, Miller’s production firm sued Warner Bros. in November 2017, postponing the release of any more films in the franchise.[7] In July 2019, Miller disclosed that two Mad Max sequels and a Furiosa movie were still in the works.
Miller had planned to start work on a prequel Furiosa movie by May 2020, following the conclusion of his other movie, Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022). After settling legal issues with Warner Bros., he started the casting process for the part concurrently. Rather than have Theron age artificially, Miller tried to cast a younger actress in the part.[4] The movie is set over a period of fifteen years, telling the story of Furiosa’s uprooting from her family and her subsequent lifelong “trying to get back”
Miller held casting calls via Skype in March 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown, for the character of Furiosa.[9] He tried Taylor-Joy with the “Mad as Hell” monologue from Sidney Lumet’s Network, seeing her in an early edit of the movie Last Night in Soho.[10] Nicholas Hoult, who had played Nux in Fury Road before, gave Taylor-Joy instruction.[11][12] Due to a schedule difficulty, Tom Burke replaced Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in the same role when he joined the cast in the fall of 2021.[13] A number of the Fury Road cast members, including sound mixer Ben Osmo, composer Junkie XL, costume designer Jenny Beavan, makeup artist Lesley Vanderwalt, and film editor Margaret Sixel, consented to return for the movie.
It was announced in January 2022 that Simon Duggan will be the cinematographer.[18] It was stated in June 2022 that Angus Sampson and Nathan Jones would be returning to their positions from Fury Road.[19] Quaden Bayles, who worked on Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022) following the viral success of a video detailing his harassment at school, was revealed to have a small role in Furiosa in August.
Filming
Deadline Hollywood verified in a May 2022 interview with Miller that second unit filming was in progress in Australia ahead of principal photography, following several various dates being reported for the commencement of filming.[22] The movie received a AU$175 million filming incentive[23] and spent AU$343.2 million (US$233 million) on production in Australia, the highest amount ever for a motion picture there.[24] Hemsworth revealed that Miller had brought in former inmates to provide backup vocals for the movie.[25] Additional filming for the second unit is slated to take place in Silverton, with filming moving to Hay in May 2022.[26] In Australia, principal photography got underway on June 1, 2022, with a September completion date anticipated.[27][28] Official filming concluded in October 2022.
