George Miller Is Making A ‘Mad Max’ Furiosa Prequel, But It Won’t Star Charlize Theron

First some good news: Legendary director George Miller is finally making another movie in the Mad Max franchise. Some news you may find even better: It will be about Furiosa, the one-armed badass who all but stole the last outing, the delightful Fury Road. Some less good news: It won’t star Charlize Theron.

Friday the 15th marks the five year anniversary of Fury Road, which revived the long dormant franchise to the tune of boffo box office, a whipping 11 Oscar nominations, and instant cult status. To celebrate, The New York Times ran an oral history of the next-level actioner, and on Thursday they confirmed with Miller — who’s been talking follow-ups ever since the movie’s release — that he’s indeed working on a Theron-less Furiosa project.

Why no Theron? Because it’s a prequel. As per NYT, the film will explore Furiosa’s history, with Miller searching for an actress in her 20s. He says he did consider using CGI tech to de-age his star, now 44, but that he decided recasting was a better route.

Just don’t expect it any time soon. Miller has another film to finish first, the drama Three Thousand Years of Longing, which stars Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba — which, alas, has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Still, be excited: Production designer Colin Gibson promises the next Mad Max movie, presumably sans Max Rockatansky, will be even bigger, with crazier cars.

(Via NYT)