In 2015, the post-apocalyptic action movie "Mad Max: Fury Road" overtook the movie scene and left a lasting impression on fans and critics alike. And this was not only recognized at the box office: in 2016, the film won a total of 6 Oscars, particularly in creative areas such as production design, make-up and sound. It quickly became apparent that more movies would be made. Before the story around Max Rockatansky is continued in "Mad Max: The Wasteland", however, director George Miller has devoted himself to another character: Imperator Furiosa.

A prequel will tell the story of how she became the badass fighter we saw in "Mad Max: Fury Road". Since the movie, titled "Furiosa", won't be released before 2024, we want to fuel your anticipation a little by providing you with all the info about the cast, plot and production in this original.

Time Period

The movie will be set about 20 years before the events of "Fury Road". Of course, the desert world is still the same, but the political situation will likely be a tad different. In contrast to the last part of the "Mad Max" film series, the plot is supposed to cover a period of 15 years. So we can most likely expect a detailed character development of the then still young female warrior.

Plot of Furiosa

An official synopsis of the film was released a while back. So, together with the known backstories of the characters, we can already predict quite a few things about the plot of "Furiosa". At the beginning of the storyline, Furiosa still lives in the Green Place of Many Mothers. She won't stay there for long: As she tells us at the end of the last film, she has been gone for 7000 days. That corresponds roughly to the mentioned 20 years difference to "Fury Road". As already narrated there, she is kidnapped from her home. She falls into the hands of a biker horde led by the warlord Dementus. Since the film is supposed to cover a longer period of time, it will probably go into more detail about her time in this harsh environment and how these challenges change her as a character.

On their raids, Dementus and his group finally encounter Immortan Joe and the Citadel: a war ensues between the two sides. In the midst of this battle for supremacy, Furiosa must pass many trials to find her way home, according to the official plot. Of course, connoisseurs of the predecessor know that she will ultimately stay in the Citadel. The question remains, however, whether she will join Immortan Joe of her own free will or whether he will keep her as a kind of war trophy.

We're also excited to find out how young Furiosa will lose her arm. Footage on set shows Anya Taylor-Joy wearing a glove, which can be reworked by CGI afterwards. So she will certainly have to endure some physical suffering. It also remains exciting to see how her own mother's story is going to be explored. We can imagine her sacrificing herself for her daughter in some way or another.

Cast

Quite a bit is already known about the cast, and we also know some of the antagonists besides Furiosa. Among them are a few names that leave a lot of room for speculation.

Furiosa

20 years before "Fury Road", Furiosa did not bear the title of Imperator, nor was she likely to already appear so hardened. The big time difference between the two stories means that the role had to be recast. Charlize Theron, who plays the role of Furiosa in "Fury Road", certainly won't be too sad about this decision. She repeatedly lamented the conditions on set and the working relationship with her acting colleague Tom Hardy after the last film.

Even though they initially considered using computer animation in order to make the actress look younger, a good alternative for Theron was finally found: The young Furiosa is played by none other than Anya Taylor-Joy. After her role in the Netflix series "The Queen's Gambit" at the latest, she is regarded as a new star in Hollywood and was also more than impressive in her last productions "The Northman" and "The Menu".

Dementus

Let's turn our attention to Dementus: the warlord is the leader of a biker horde and the one who kidnaps Furiosa from the Green Place of Many Mothers. The leader of the biker horde was originally meant to be played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. However, it is still not known why the actor was substituted shortly before filming began. Yet his supposed successor is no stranger either: The warlord in the new film will presumably be played by none other than Marvel star Chris Hemsworth, who can already be seen in photos from the set with a massive beard. We say "presumably" because there is still some conjecture about the role distribution - we'll get to that in a moment.

Immortan Joe

When it comes to Furiosa, another character can't be missing: Immortan Joe. He is also a lot younger and gets a new actor. This is necessary because his previous actor Hugh Keays-Byrne passed away in 2020 - after all, he already played the bad guy in the first "Mad Max" movie from 1979. Who exactly will play the role now is not entirely clear yet. Tom Burke, a cast member whose role has not been revealed yet, is assumed to play the part. He is known from the Netflix movie "Mank", the series "The Crown" and the Oscar-nominated "Living".

And this is where the speculation starts: Neither Tom Burke nor Chris Hemsworth have been officially assigned to their roles yet. It's true, though, that most are certain that Hemsworth will take on the central role of Dementus. But there is also the theory that he will triumph over Burke's Immortan Joe at the end of the film and then take over his name - just as the new religious leader of the Citadel.

Rictus Erectus

Immortan Joe's youngest son, Rictus Erectus, will also be seen again. As in "Fury Road", he will again be played by Nathan Jones. The 6 foot 10 tall guy was last seen in the new film version of "Mortal Kombat". It will be interesting to see how the creators will portray him. After all, Jones is 13 years older than Chris Hemsworth and 12 years older than Tom Burke - tricky in case they are supposed to portray his biological father.

Organic Mechanic

Angus Sampson is another actor we already know from "Fury Road". He will appear once again as the Citadel doctor "Organic Mechanic". The doctor is not only responsible for the medical care of the War Boys, but also delivers the children of Immortan Joe. In the film, he is also the only one who addresses the leader simply as Joe or Boss. What kind of perfidious experiments and medical interventions he will perform in "Furiosa" remains to be seen.

Unknown Roles

Also part of the cast are Elsa Pataky, who also played in "Thor: Love and Thunder", and Ian Roberts, who some of you might remember from "Superman Returns". One actor we are very excited about is young Quaden Bayles. The boy from Australia, who has a form of dwarfism, was bullied so much at school because of his looks that he didn't want to live anymore and published this in a video message. In the meantime he has had several film requests and after the film "Three Thousand Years of Longing" with Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton, "Furiosa" is the second film in which he has managed to get a role.

Production

As with the other "Mad Max" parts, George Miller will of course be in charge of directing again. The 78-year-old mastermind behind the series is indispensable in his position and is already planning the upcoming installments. Another reason for the prequel is co-writer Nico Lathouris, who already created a detailed background story for each main character in "Fury Road". The script for "Furiosa" was therefore already written during the filming of the last movie. However, since there were disputes between Miller and Warner Brothers, further progress was put on hold for the time being.

Also back are lots of vehicles. While there were 135 in the 2015 film, there are to be several more this time. It is clear that the Oscar for the best production design is being aimed for again. Filming started in early 2021 in New South Wales, Australia, and over 850 new jobs were created and $350 million invested in local infrastructure for the movie alone. After filming was completed in late 2022, London-based DNEG also moved post-production to Australia. Not only does this substantiate the size of the project, but it also created an additional 500 jobs.

Tom Hardy will likewise return to the franchise after "Furiosa". With "Mad Max: The Wasteland", the title for the next movie is already known - then again with Max Rockatansky in the leading role. But this shall not be the last movie of the franchise: According to rumors, there will be a seventh film. For now, though, we are looking forward to "Furiosa": The movie is scheduled to hit theaters on May 24, 2024.