After Fury Road had spent decades stuck in development hell, only to face further setbacks and endure a torturous shoot when it finally got the green light, George Miller would be insane in wanting to jump straight into another Mad Max movie. Then again, we’re talking about the same filmmaker that crafted one of cinema’s greatest post-apocalyptic franchises, wrote Babe, directed Happy Feet and cast Jay Baruchel as the villain in a $220 million Justice League blockbuster that was never made, so the unexpected also happens to be the norm for the 75 year-old.
Despite the troubles in bringing Fury Road to the screen, it turned out to be more than worth it when audiences were greeted by one of the greatest action epics ever made, one that went on to score near-universal critical acclaim, earn $375 million at the box office and land ten Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Director, ultimately walking away with six prizes in the technical categories.
At one stage, Miller was reported to be working on two follow-ups simultaneously, a Fury Road sequel and a prequel going by the working title Mad Max: Furiosa. Filming was once speculated to begin as early as next year, but that seems increasingly remote given the current circumstances that have ravaged the entire industry over the last few months.
In any case, Charlize Theron might not be returning to reprise the role of Furiosa, but plenty of names have already been linked to the part including Jodie Comer and Anya Taylor-Joy, and a new report now claims that Chris Hemsworth is being eyed for the male lead. A leaked casting call said to be for Mad Max: Furiosa is looking for a 30-40 year-old male to play a character named Dementus that’s described as ‘breathtakingly handsome,’ and unless you’re Star-Lord, then the 37 year-old Extraction star certainly fits the bill.
While far from a done deal, if Warner Bros. are actively looking to fill out the cast, then it would appear that Mad Max: Furiosa is a lot further along in the development process than previously thought, which can only be a good thing for fans of insanely-choreographed action sequences.
