George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road was one of the most popular movies of 2015, that not only took the box office by storm but won several Oscars along the way. While many loved being able to see Mad Max on the big screen once again, it was Charlize Theron's Furiosa that drew the most attention. So it's to little surprise that when George Miller returns to the post-apocalyptic wasteland again very soon, it will be with a prequel film about her, rather than the next story about Max. The main male character this time around will be played by Chris Hemsworth, in a role we know very little about.
There are very few details about the Mad Max prequel called Furiosa, other than the fact that the role originated by Charlize Theron will be played by Anya Taylor-Joy and that Chris Hemsworth will also appear in an undisclosed role. Speaking at a press conference (via Australia's ABC.Net), Hemsworth was tight-lipped on details, though he did admit to being a massive fan of the franchise. Being Australian, the Mad Max franchise, was a major influence on his own desire to be an actor. Perhaps that's why Hemsworth says that he might actually give the original Mad Max, Mel Gibson, a call to get some advice.
Exactly what sort of advice Chris Hemsworth would be looking for from Mel Gibson we don't really know, as we don't know anything about the character he's playing. Still, Mel Gibson certainly knows George Miller's post-apocalypse better than anybody other than Miller himself, so I'm sure the former Mad Max would have some interesting perspectives.
It's also possible that, while we don't expect Max Rockatansky to appear in the film at all since he and Furiosa first met in Mad Max: Fury Road, it's still possible that the new movie could be more directly connected to the main franchise in some way. Furiosa is set prior to Fury Road as an origin story for the title character. And while the exact chronology of the four films in the current franchise is nebulous at best, we could certainly see Max's actions in one movie have an impact on Furiosa, even if the characters in the new film don't know it.
In addition to Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy, we know that Yahya Abdul Mateen II will also be part of the cast, though again, the exact role has not been revealed. It seems more than likely, however, that one of these men will be a significant ally to the young Furiosa, and the other will be the film's primary antagonist.
Production for Furiosa is set to take place in New South Wales, Australia, and is set to be the biggest movie production the region has ever seen. Interestingly, part of the new movie is set to be filmed in an area called Broken Hill, where Mad Max: Fury Road was set to be filmed. Unfortunately, unusual rainfall in the area made the region too green, and so production was moved to Africa.
