Mad Max: Fury Road was one of the biggest movies of 2015. It grossed almost $500 million worldwide and won a multitude of Oscars. It took a while, but director George Miller officially announced a prequel film, Furiosa, starring Chris Hemsworth. Now, we've learned a little more about the upcoming flick and basically, it's going to be "huge."
In fact, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced on Twitter that the movie will be shot on location in NSW. It is set to be the largest film ever produced in Australia. According to Gladys Berejiklian’s tweet, the movie will bring in $350 million to the Australian economy as well as create hundreds of jobs for Australian citizens.
Not only that, but the scope of the story will expand as well. Director George Miller also mentioned in a comment on the movie's status (via the Sydney Morning Herald):
Whereas Fury Road essentially happened over three days and two nights, this happens over many years. You try to make films that are ‘uniquely familiar’. This will be familiar to those people who know Mad Max, and in particular Fury Road, but also it will be unique.
The prequel will follow the early years of Imperator Furiosa (played by Charlize Theron), the war captain turned rebel insurgent we met in Mad Max: Fury Road. Golden Globe winner Anya Taylor-Joy, who earned rave reviews for her performance as chess prodigy Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit, will star as the younger version of Furiosa. Charlize voiced her disappointment in being recast, but Taylor-Joy was extremely respectful of her work in Fury Road and hopes to do the role justice.
Chris Hemsworth, familiar to audiences around the world as the Norse thunder god Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is also set to star. The native Aussie joined Gladys Berejiklian, George Miller, and Doug Mitchell at a press conference to announce his involvement as well as discuss the project.
Chris Hemsworth will certainly be kept busy for the foreseeable future. He is currently filming Thor: Love and Thunder, the sequel to Thor: Ragnarok. Taika Watiti returns as director, and penned the script with screenwriter Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. The film will also feature an appearance from Chris Pratt as Star Lord, one of the many popular characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Outside of this, Hemsworth also has roles in Netflix's Extraction 2, a Hulk Hogan biopic and more movies in the works.
As for the Furiosa-led prequel, George Miller is currently wrapping on his movie Three Thousand Years of Longing, and afterwards will gets started with preparations on the highly-anticipated film. Though it's worth noting filming is not expected to happen until next year, at least it seems as if the ball has finally gotten rolling on the already-announced project. While we wait, you can see what movies are coming down the pipeline this year with our full new movie release schedule.
