When we first heard that Chris Hemsworth had been cast as the villain in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, there was speculation that he'd be playing a younger take on Fury Road's Immortan Joe. We'd later learn that the Thor star was actually playing a different character named Dementus - but the recent trailer confirmed that Joe will also appear.
The late Hugh Keays-Byrne played the megalomaniacal warlord in Mad Max: Fury Road, and Empire has now revealed that fellow Aussie actor Lachy Hulme will step into the plastic ab-suit and breathing apparatus for George Miller's prequel.
Hulme had actually already been cast as Rizzdale Pell, a member of Dementus' gang, when he quizzed Miller about his plans for a younger Immortan Joe.
“He said, ‘I’ll probably just get a body double' I said, ‘Well, somebody needs to step up for Hugh. Someone needs to honour this great man. I can do it. I can do the voice. And it’s all in the eyes."
Miller thought about it, then returned to Hulme with the offer once production was already underway.
"He said, ‘Do you want to do it?’ I said, ‘What took you so long? You’ve finally figured out that this movie ain’t gonna make dollar one until you’ve got double Lachy Hulme in it!’”
We're expecting a full trailer for Furiosa fairly soon, but for now, you can check out the previously-released teaser below.
"As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus," reads the movie's synopsis. "Sweeping through the Wasteland they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home."
Miller penned the script with Fury Road co-writer Nico Lathouris. The director's behind-the-scenes creative team includes first assistant director PJ Voeten and second unit director and stunt coordinator Guy Norris, director of photography Simon Duggan (Hacksaw Ridge, The Great Gatsby), composer Tom Holkenborg, sound designer Robert Mackenzie, editor Eliot Knapman, visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson and colorist Eric Whipp.
The team also includes other longtime collaborators: production designer Colin Gibson, editor Margaret Sixel, sound mixer Ben Osmo, costume designer Jenny Beavan and makeup designer Lesley Vanderwalt, each of whom won an Oscar for their work on Mad Max: Fury Road.