Anya Taylor-Joy To Play ‘Furiosa’ In ‘Mad Max’ Prequel

Anya Taylor-Joy will explore the wasteland without Mad Max.
Deadline reports the New Mutants star will play the title character in George Miller‘s Furiosa. The Mad Max: Fury Road prequel will go back in time and delve into the backstory Miller devised for Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron in Fury Road) and how she came to be one of the few women trusted by Immortan Joe to drive a war rig. Thor‘s Chris Hemsworth and Watchmen‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II round out the cast. Co-written by Miller and Nico Lathouris, most of the Fury Road production team are expected to return.
A Furiosa-led film has been a possibility since Miller first began developing Fury Road over twenty years ago. The character and the wasteland he developed for the fourth Mad Max film went far deeper than anything he created for the previous films. Although, it should be said the richness of those details presented at 80 mph made Fury Road a more satisfying experience. Which, of course, means we’re dubious about a prequel — particular as it means Theron will not return — but Miller is a unique filmmaker who could potentially pull of a magic trick here. He did, after all, successfully reinvent Mad Max with Fury Road.
As with all newly announced productions, it is unclear when the film will being shooting. Word of casting suggests it isn’t too far off. That said, Hemsworth is scheduled to film Thor: Love & Thunder in March.