George Miller has announced yet another addition to the Mad Max franchise, a prequel based around Charlize Theron’s character Furiosa.
The Australian filmmaker stated that he had drafted up the prequel before Fury Road begun production, as a way to help Theron conceptualise her character. She will not be making an appearance in the film, however.
A Furiosa-centred prequel is making its way into the Mad Max franchise, however Charlize Theron won’t be returning to the iconic role.
First appearing in 2015’s revered Mad Max: Fury Road, Theron’s portrayal of the apocalyptic heroine has been cemented into cinematic history. Well aware of this, Miller noted to the New York Times that he initially considered using de-aging technology on the actress in order to include her in production. However, if IT Chapter 2 taught us anything, it’s that using CGI to de-age an actor doesn’t really work out in the end.
“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,” Miller said to press. “Despite the valiant attempts on The Irishman, I think there’s still an uncanny valley. Everyone is on the verge of solving it, [in] particular Japanese video-game designers, but there’s still a pretty wide valley, I believe.”
There are reports that Anya Taylor-Joy is being considered for the leading role. Taylor-Joy is known best for her work in the Split horror series, the 2020 adaption of Emma, and her acting debut in 2015’s The Witch.
The fifth instalment in the Mad Max franchise was scheduled to begin production in Australia later this year, however Miller is yet to confirm whether this will continue as planned amidst the ongoing pandemic.
