After a 30-year wait, Mad Max: Fury Road burst into cinemas in 2015 and gave an adrenaline kick to all who saw it. The high-octane ride that starred Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron became both a fan favorite and a critical favorite on its way to earning a spot on the list of greatest action movies of all time.
Thankfully, we won’t have to wait another 30 years to see George Miller’s next foray into the Mad Max universe, as Furiosa, his upcoming prequel starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, will bring a new chapter to the big screen before long. From its release date to the trailer and so much more, here’s everything we know about Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
What Is The Furiosa Release Date?
The theatrical calendar is constantly changing, but as of right now, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is scheduled to open on the big screen on May 24, 2024. Back in September 2021, Deadline reported that a number of Warner Bros. movies had been shuffled, with the Mad Max prequel being the most notable of the pack. Prior to this announcement, the movie was slated for a June 2023 theatrical release, which ultimately ended up not happening.
Anya Taylor-Joy And Chris Hemsworth Lead The Furiosa Cast
Though Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is set in George Miller’s vast wasteland, it won’t see the return of everyone’s favorite lone wastelander, Max Rockatansky. However, we will see younger versions of several characters from Mad Max: Fury Road as well as the debut of a new warlord roaming the dystopian landscape. Here’s who Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, and others are playing in the Furiosa cast.
Anya Taylor-Joy as Imperator Furiosa
Anya Taylor-Joy leads the Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga cast as Imperator Furiosa, a younger version of the character famously played by Charlize Theron in Fury Road. Since her breakout role in 2015’s The Witch, Taylor-Joy has become one of the biggest names in Hollywood thanks to performances in movies like Split, The Menu, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Chris Hemsworth as Warlord Dementus
Chris Hemsworth will take on the role of Warlord Dementus, the leader of the Biker Hordfe who becomes something between a captor and a mentor for the young Furiosa. Mostly known for his work in the MCU as Thor, Hemsworth has shown a darker side in movies like Bad Times at the El Royale.
Tom Burke as Praetorian Jack
Tom Burke will also show up in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga as Praetorian Jack, a character with some kind of romantic connection with Anya Taylor-Joy’s titular character, per EW. Burke, who took over the role when Yahya Abdul-Mateen II departed the project in November 2021, is known for his roles on shows like Strike, The Crown, and The Lazarus Project.
Lachy Hulme as Immortan Joe
Lachy Hulme will be taking on the role of Immortan Joe, according to Empire, a character famously played by the late Hugh Keays-Byrne in 2015’s Fury Road. Over the years, Hulme has appeared in movies like The Matrix Reloaded, The Little Death, and Three Thousand Years of Longing.
The Furiosa Trailer Introduces A Young Imperator And All Kinds Of Wasteland Action
Several months after the first Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga trailer arrived on the scene, Warner Bros. gave the world a more proper look at the upcoming film with a two-and-a-half-minute video filling in the blanks of Anya Taylor-Joy’s character’s story. With flashbacks, action sequences, and so much of Chris Hemsworth’s Warlord Dementus, there was a lot to digest:
With a tagline reading “She will return with a vengeance,” the trailer does a masterful job of setting the tone and stakes for Furiosa, which looks to be on par with the franchise, if not better than what we’ve seen before.
Furiosa Will Follow The Young Imperator As She Is Caught Between Warlord Dementus And Immortan Joe
When Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga arrives in theaters, it won’t pick up after the Mad Max: Fury Road ending, but instead, go back to the past of the young imperator and follow her on one epic and difficult journey.
According to the official synopsis from Warner Bros., the movie will see a young Furiosa snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and finding a new home with the Warlord Dementus and his Biker Horde. That isn’t all, though, as the massive horde comes across Immortan Joe’s Citadel, kicking off a “war of dominance” between the two warlords.
Exclusive CinemaCon 2024 footage viewed by CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell showed the scope and scale of Furiosa, which will cover a timeframe of 16 to 18 years, which is much more epic than any other title in the franchise. In CB’s Warner Bros. CinemaCon 2024 blog, O’Connell also pointed out that the film will have three main sections: I. Her Odyssey Begins, II. A Warrior Awakens, and III. Ride Into Vengeance.
George Miller Co-Wrote Furiosa Alongside Mad Max: Fury Road Scribe Nico Lathouris
In addition to directing each of the previous installments in the franchise, George Miller has also written (or at least co-written) them. Warner Bros. has announced it will be the same with Furiosa, as Miller penned the script with Fury Road scribe Nico Lathouris.
Miller and Lathouris aren’t the only behind-the-scenes players from that film to return for the spinoff, as production designer Colin Gibson, editor Margaret Sixel, sound mixer Ben Osmo, costume designer Jenny Beavan, and makeup designer Lesley Vanderwalt, who each won an Oscar for the previous film, are all returning. This is also true for stunt coordinator Guy Norris and several other assistant directors from the 2015 thrill ride.
What Is Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’s Rating?
If longtime fans of George Miller’s high-octane dystopian action franchise were hoping for Furiosa to be as violent and over-the-top as what’s come in the past, they are in for a treat, as the prequel film will be rated R. According to FilmRatings.com, the movie has sequences of strong violence and grisly images. This will mark the fourth film in the franchise to have an R-rating, as only 1985’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome was rated PG-13 at the time of its release.
A Mad Max Saga Will Reportedly Be The Longest Entry In The Franchise
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga will reportedly be the longest entry in the franchise. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the Anya Taylor-Joy-led action flick will have a runtime of 148 minutes. Though nearly two-and-a-half-hour action movies are pretty standard in today’s world, Furiosa will still be nearly 30 minutes longer than the previous record holder in the series, which was Fury Road with its 120-minute runtime.
Chris Hemsworth Has Called Working With George Miller On Furiosa The ‘Most Incredible Experience’
Chris Hemsworth has done a lot throughout his career, including saving the planet, galaxy, and universe on more than one occasion in some of the best Marvel movies, playing historical figures, and even kicking off an impressive action franchise with the Extraction movies. But, as the actor told ET in June 2023, working with George Miller on Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was the “most incredible experience,” adding:
The young kid in me who grew up on watching Mad Max and those films – that franchise has been running for 45 years. To be involved in it in any shape or form was a dream, working with George Miller was the most incredible experience I've ever had.
This statement echoes Hemsworth's comments during a June 2023 interview with GQ, in which he said his performance in Furiosa was something he felt “the most proud of.” And again, that’s saying something, considering his body of work.
Another Mad Max: Fury Road Prequel Isn’t Out Of The Question
As fans of the Mad Max franchise, we should be happy and content with not having to wait several decades between Fury Road and Furiosa, but you can never have too much Wasteland madness, right? Well, the upcoming movie isn’t the only prequel to the 2015 action spectacle that George Miller has written. In a 2022 interview with The AV Club, the Australian filmmaker revealed that he wrote a story about Tom Hardy’s character leading up to him being captured by Immorten Joe, stating:
We also wrote, not a screenplay, but almost in novel form, Nico Lathouris and I, what happened to Max in that year before, and that’s something that we’ll look at further down the track later. But in telling each other the story of Furiosa, everything in Fury Road had to be explained
Miller didn’t provide any more details about when or if this Mad Max movie would happen, but he did reveal that he essentially has a backstory for every character in Fury Road, including the Doof Warrior, the blind guitar player who stole the show with his riffs and flames in the 2015 movie’s massive chase sequence. So maybe, just maybe, we’ll get to see another prequel happen.
While we count down the days until Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga hits the big screen, now would be a great time to check out the 2024 movie schedule so you can find out what’s coming to a theater near you before and after you enter the wasteland.
