Anya Taylor-Joy is set to play Furiosa, the character originated by Charlize Theron in “Mad Max: Fury Road,” in a standalone action film “Furiosa” that will also star Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Warner Bros. announced Tuesday.
George Miller will return to the director’s chair for the film that will track Furiosa’s origins before she teamed up with Mad Max in “Fury Road.”
Miller will also co-write and produce, and his “Fury Road” team at his Australian-based Kennedy Miller Mitchell production house will also return for “Furiosa.”
It’s unclear what role both Hemsworth and Abdul-Mateen II will play, but “Furiosa” is still set in the dystopian, desert wasteland Miller created as far back as the original “Mad Max” trilogy with Mel Gibson. Miller had previously been eyeing Taylor-Joy for the role among other actresses and had conceived of a backstory for Furiosa as he was writing “Fury Road” and even incorporated elements of her story into a separate screenplay for “Fury Road.”
Miller wrote the script for “Furiosa” with Nico Lathouris, who also co-wrote “Mad Max: Fury Road.” He’s producing with his longtime partner Doug Mitchell.
Miller’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes production designer Colin Gibson, editor Margaret Sixel, sound mixer Ben Osmo, and makeup designer Lesley Vanderwalt, each of whom won an Oscar for their work on “Mad Max: Fury Road,” as well as first assistant director PJ Voeten and second unit director and stunt coordinator Guy Norris.
Miller is currently at work on his next film “Three Thousand Years of Longing” at MGM and starring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton, and he previously has said he hopes to tackle “Furiosa” after finishing that project.
“Mad Max: Fury Road” won six Oscars and brought in $375.2 million at the worldwide box office.
Before taking on “Furiosa,” Taylor-Joy recently wrapped filming on “Last Night in Soho” from Edgar Wright” and Robert Eggers’ “The Northman,” and she was most recently seen in the adaptation of the Jane Austen novel “Emma” and in the miniseries “The Queen’s Gambit.”
“Thor” and “Avengers” star Hemsworth” most recently had a hit with the Netflix action film “Extraction.” And Abdul-Mateen II will next be seen in “Candyman,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and the fourth “Matrix” film. He recently won an Emmy for his work in “Watchmen.”
Taylor-Joy is represented by CAA, United Agents, and Fred Toczek at Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson. Hemsworth is represented by CAA and attorney Matt Galsor at Greenberg Glusker. Abdul-Mateen II is represented by WME, M88, Ziffren Brittenham LLP, Rogers & Cowan PMK.
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