It’s been years since Mad Max: Fury Road revived the iconic franchise, with Tom Hardy taking on the role Mel Gibson played so long ago. Due to the film’s massive critical and commercial success and its sweep at the Academy Awards that year, some speculated that Hardy’s films would spawn a franchise of its own. Finally, that post-apocalyptic cinematic universe will expand with a prequel film, officially titled Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, based on the character Imperator Furiosa, portrayed by Charlize Theron in the 2015 film.
While the early films have always had the eponymous Max Rockatansky as the protagonist, Furiosa will be the first film in the franchise to feature a story told from a different character’s perspective. The prequel is being written and directed by the talented George Miller, with Nick Lathouris taking on the role of co-writer. Here’s everything we know about the upcoming Mad Max: Fury Road prequel, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Update December 6, 2023: If you’re looking for more information about Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, you’ll be happy to know that this article has been updated by Jessica Peerez with more information relating to the recently released trailer, plot, and cast, and release date of the film.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga: The Plot
It has been confirmed that the plot of Furiosa will center on Imperator Furiosa’s past and chronicle her journey to becoming the Imperator that viewers are now familiar with. The film will follow her Furiosa as she is separated from her family, taken from the Green Place of Many Mothers, and thrust into an unfamiliar environment, detailing her struggles throughout. The prequel is set to bring Furiosa’s life before she meets Max Rockatansky to screens, revealing how she became the strong-willed, feminist hero that viewers encounter in Fury Road.
Imperator Furiosa was a fresh character George Miller introduced in Fury Road, and she hadn’t appeared in the Mel Gibson films from the ’80s. Played by Charlize Theron, Furiosa handles logistics for Immortan Joe and is his true confidante. She is entrusted with a powerful, armored war rig and commands a small force of Joe’s War Boys. However, when she is sent off to ferry oil back from Gas Town, she betrays Immortan Joe. She decides to save Joe’s concubines and search for Green Place, a fable she remembers from her childhood. The story of Fury Road revolves around her alliance with Max as they struggle to defeat Immortan Joe and escape with his concubines to Green Place.
The official trailer for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, released by Warner Bros. Pictures on December 1, 2023, reveals more details regarding the direction of the film. Confirming its focus on Furiosa’s origin story, the trailer reads, “46 years after the collapse, a young Furiosa is taken from her family. She will devote the rest of her life to finding her way home. This is her odyssey.”
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga: The Cast & Crew
As the film is a prequel, Miller had considered using the de-aging technology with Theron essaying the role of a 20-year-old Furiosa. The idea was to have Theron reprise her role in a digitally de-aged appearance, just like Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci did for Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. However, Miller eventually dropped the idea and decided to recast the role with a younger actress.
The cast of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga now has a noteworthy combination of talent. The extremely skilled Anya Taylor-Joy will take on the titular role of the young Furiosa. Taylor-Joy has received notable acclaim for her roles in Autumn de Wilde’s Emma and the Netflix hit The Queen’s Gambit. She also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie.
Other names in the cast of Furiosa include Chris Hemsworth, famously known for his role as Thor in the MCU. Hemsworth will portray the film’s primary antagonist, Warlord Dementus. Tom Burke will also take on a character in the film, although the actor’s exact role is not known at the time of writing. Alyla Browne and Quaden Bayles, who will be making their acting debut, will also be starring in the film. Emmy-winning Yahhya Abdul-Mateen II was also attached to the cast. However, he later left his role due to scheduling conflicts.
In addition to the new faces in the cast, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga will also bring back a few familiar faces. Fury Road‘s Nathan Jones and Angus Sampson will be reprising their roles in the prequel, with Jones coming back to screens as Rictus Erectus and Sampson starring once again as Organic Mechanic. In addition, a younger version of Immortan Joe will appear but it is unknown who will play the character.
Furiosa: Where Does It Fall in the Mad Max Timeline?
The timeline of Mad Max films has been under constant debate. Since there was a considerable gap between the release dates of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome and Fury Road, there is no telling how these films are interconnected. Fury Road is mostly considered to be a sequel in that franchise. Given that Max is depicted as a bit jaded and weary in Fury Road compared to its predecessor, one can argue that the film might take place in the later years of Max’s life; however, it can’t be definitively confirmed.
Furiosa would be on the same timeline as Fury Road. It is a direct prequel to the film, and the character Imperator Furiosa was not a part of Mel Gibson’s Mad Max Trilogy. Therefore, whatever connection it establishes would directly refer to the events of Fury Road. However, if we assume that all these films are part of the same continuity, and since Miller has created an extensive backstory for Furiosa’s character, we can hope for some references to the original films of the franchise. It is expected to span several years, which may clear up the state of events in that post-apocalyptic world.
Release Date
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga‘s release date is set far in the future, much like its story. The current release date is May 24, 2024, in time for Memorial Day weekend. The film will share its release with the much-awaited Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes from 20th Century Pictures and the animated Garfield reboot from Sony Pictures.
The film will have an exclusive theatrical release, similar to the previous movies, and also have an IMAX release. Furiosa will most likely head to Max (the streaming service, not the character) after exhausting its theatrical run.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
- Release Date
- May 24, 2024
- Director
- George Miller
- Cast
- Chris Hemsworth, Anya Taylor-Joy, Tom Burke, Angus Sampson, Daniel Webber, Nathan Jones
- Main Genre
- Action
- Studio
- Kennedy Miller Mitchell, Village Roadshow Pictures, Warner Bros.
- Writers
- George Miller, Nick Lathouris
- Tagline
- Remember her.
