Yahya Abdul-Mateen II drops out of ‘Mad Max: Furiosa’

You can barely turn around these days without bumping into Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, such has been the actor’s rapid rise up the Hollywood ranks, which has been made even more impressive by the fact he’d appeared in precisely one movie prior to 2017.

After winning a Primetime Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in Watchmen and lending support in Aquaman, he followed it up with acclaimed courtroom drama The Trial of the Chicago 7 and the successful Candyman reboot, while he’s got The Matrix Resurrections coming to theaters and HBO Max next month, with Michael Bay’s Ambulance landing in February of next year.

On top of that, there’s sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, action thriller Emergency Contact for Dwayne Johnson’s Seven Bucks and the dystopian tale By All. Something had to give looking at his schedule, and it’s bad news as Deadline reports that Mateen II has officially dropped out of George Miller’s Mad Max: Furiosa, where he’ll be replaced by Tom Burke.

Inevitably, scheduling conflicts are cited as the reason behind his departure, which might have something to do with Furiosa getting pushed back almost a year. Burke is an altogether different type of talent, arguably best known for playing Orson Welles in David Fincher’s Mank, and he’s now set to co-star with Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth in the latest installment of the post-apocalyptic franchise.