Mad Max: Fury Road fans will have to wait a little longer for its much-anticipated spinoff Furiosa to begin production. This is due to director George Miller finally starting production for his much-delayed fantasy drama Three Thousand Years of Longing. He will be teaming up with Idris Elba and Oscar winner Tilda Swinton to bring the story to life.
Not much is currently known about the film’s plot, but George Miller has said it will center on more interior sets and dialogue compared to Mad Max. Despite being called the "anti-Mad Max," there will still be some action scenes, according to Miller. In addition to the secretive storyline, the supporting cast is being kept under wraps as well.
In fact, the production has already begun in Sydney, Australia with Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton set as the film’s leads. Even more surprising is that the film has already been shooting for 20 days of a 62-day production. The film is expected to take a break for Christmas before reconvening in early 2021. The drama is expected to wrap up in early spring with a planned September 2021 release, per Deadline.
But Mad Max fans will be in for a treat as many of Fury Road’s collaborators are part of Three Thousand Years of Longing’s crew. Director of Photography John Seale will be behind the lens despite retiring from filmmaking after finishing the Oscar-winning film. Seale is joined by editor Margaret Sixel, hair and makeup designer Lesley Vanderwalt and set decorator Lisa Thompson. All, who I might add, won Oscars for their work on the critically acclaimed box office hit. Other returning Fury Road staples include composer Tom Holkenborg (better known as Junkie XL), casting director Nikki Barrett, first Assistant Director P.J. Voeten, stunt coordinator Guy Norris, and Sheldon Wade, who collaborated on the film’s much-talked-about prosthetics.
Along with these Fury Road staples being a part of the fantasy drama, Miller recruited Babe production designer Roger Ford, The Matrix costume designer Kym Barrett and Marvel VFX supervisor Paul Butterworth. The film was announced in 2018 but has faced production and financial issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The production solved this problem by securing outside funding, but that meant the film had to nix filming in London and Istanbul.
Despite having to scale down the production, all isn’t lost as Miller’s producing partner Doug Mitchell described the Sydney sets as being “some of the most spectacular I’ve ever seen.” It makes sense as the story spans over thirty centuries.
After filming wraps on Three Thousand Years of Longing, Miller will start production on Furiosa with Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II set to star despite some drama surrounding the re-casting. Like Three Thousand Years of Longing, the Mad Max spinoff will film in Australia. As a Mad Max fan, I know the wait has been trying at times, but given Miller’s illustrious career, Furiosa will be worth it.
