Just because the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed movies that were about to come out and ground projects that were in the middle of production to a halt, that doesn’t mean that work in the film industry has completely stopped. Case in point, director George Miller is pushing ahead with getting his Mad Max: Fury Road Furiosa spinoff off the ground, and has even held some auditions during these coronavirus-filled times.
Among the actors that George Miller has spoken with about the Furiousa movie is actress Anya Taylor-Joy. Variety didn’t mention whether or not Taylor-Joy has been cast, but in keeping with the strong suggestion to social distance/quarantine to help flatten the coronavirus curve, Miller held her audition and the others over Skype.
In addition to her role as Illyana Rasputin, a.k.a. Magik, in the forthcoming The New Mutants (which was recently delayed for the fourth time due to the current pandemic), Anya Taylor-Joy’s other credits include The Witch, Split, Glass and Emma, which is now available for rental on VOD platforms. Taylor-Joy also had a voice role in Netflix’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and her other upcoming projects include Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho and the Netflix miniseries The Queen’s Gambit.
Released in 2015, Mad Max: Fury Road, which starred Tom Hardy in the eponymous role once occupied by Mel Gibson, was met with critical acclaim and made over $374 million worldwide, making it a modest box office success. The story saw Max teaming up with Imperator Furiosa to escape from Immortal Joe and guide his “Five Wives” to safety. Charlize Theron’s Furiosa performance was one of Fury Road’s main sources of praise.
In the years following Mad Max: Fury Road’s time in theaters, George Miller has said that he plans to keep the franchise going with numerous projects, one of which would star Furiosa. While no specific plot details for this spinoff have been revealed, it’s been rumored that it will be a prequel. In addition to Anya Taylor-Joy being thrown into the casting mix, it was also recently reported that Jodie Comer and Richard Madden have been eyed to join, with Comer being sought to play a younger Furiosa and Madden playing a handsome man with a huge forehead wound crudely stitched together with chrome staples.
Keep in mind that as with Anya Taylor-Joy, neither Jodie Comer nor Richard Madden’s inclusion in the Furiosa spinoff is officially confirmed in any way. It’s also unclear when George Miller will complete casting for the projects, but judging by these names, this is a solid lineup of talent to choose from.
Along with this Furiosa spinoff, George Miller also said last year that he had ideas for two other Max Max-centric stories, one of which has been referred to as Max Max: The Wasteland. However, considering that Variety mentioned that Miller plans to start shooting this Furiosa story in 2021, it looks like that’s being prioritized.
Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for all the biggest updates concerning the Mad Max franchise. In the meantime, look through our guide detailing all the cinematic projects that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
