There's a lot of excitement for Furiosa, a Mad Max: Fury Road prequel that will tell the origin story of Charlize Theron's badass warrior. Anya Taylor-Joy will take over the role for that movie, of course, but could we eventually see a younger actor replace Tom Hardy as Max Rockatansky?
During a recent interview with The AV Club, Miller confirmed that, as well as penning the screenplay for Furiosa before shooting Fury Road, he simultaneously came up with a new story about Max.
"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," the filmmaker teases. "But in telling each other the story of Furiosa, everything in Fury Road had to be explained."
"In my mind, I have a back story of the Doof Warrior, who plays the guitar. How could a blind man who all he can do is play a guitar, how does he get to survive in a wasteland where everybody is in extremis? How did he come to be there? So we wrote little stories for every character when we made Fury Road."
It remains to be seen whether Miller actually fully explores that pre-Fury Road timeline in as much detail as he'd clearly like, but more Mad Max would be welcomed by fans. We'd also be curious to see if Tom Hardy returns and what happened during this year to make it a story worth telling. Ultimately, the chances of this happening will likely hinge on Furiosa's success.
"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 Furiosa 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."
Cameras are rolling on Furiosa, and it's currently set to be released in theaters on May 24, 2024.