Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga has now landed in cinemas and if you haven't been following the development of the prequel movie, you might be wondering why Furiosa looks a little different in the new movie.
With her shaved head and missing arm, Furiosa become an action-movie icon thanks to Charlize Theron's performance in Mad Max: Fury Road, as the fourth instalment of the saga became a global phenomenon. George Miller's movie won six Academy Awards and is considered one of the best blockbusters of all time.
Despite her acclaimed performance, Theron was not asked to come back for the prequel, as Anya Taylor-Joy took on the role of Furiosa instead. It's a decision that Theron said was a "tough one to swallow" in 2020.
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Two years later, Theron was asked again about her feelings on a Furiosa-led movie without her.
"Listen, I'm not mad about [Miller doing a prequel instead of a sequel]. One of the greatest f**king actresses [Anya Taylor-Joy] is picking up something that I only imagined," she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2022.
So why didn't Charlize Theron reprise the role for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga?
Mad Max creator George Miller has explained his reasons for casting a younger actress to play the part during the press tour for Furiosa.
According to Miller, he toyed with the idea of using de-aging technology, but he wasn't convinced by the results seen in other recent movies.
"I saw not only The Irishman, but Ang Lee's Gemini Man, with Will Smith. Both of them were masterful directors, but it was never persuasive," he told Variety.
"I thought all people would be watching is Charlize looking young and knowing it's an effect. And as time went on and we got into litigation with Warner Bros [Miller sued the studio over a $7 million bonus for Fury Road], we had to find someone younger."
Mad Max's prequel tells Furiosa's life story, from her stolen childhood to her first meeting with Immortan Joe, focusing heavily on the character's youth. That meant a younger actress was needed, so 28-year-old Anya Taylor-Joy was cast in Theron's place.
We do actually see Theron as Furiosa in the new movie, but it comes during the credits which replay moments from Mad Max: Fury Road. It's all archival footage and Theron didn't film anything new.
That doesn't mean we will never see her as Imperator Furiosa ever again, however.
As Miller revealed to Digital Spy back in 2015, his two planned sequels of Fury Road could feature the character, though briefly, opening a possibility for Theron to reprise the role.
"She's [Theron] not in the Mad Max [sequel] story, but in one of the stories there's an interaction between [Max and Furiosa]. I can't really say more than that because it's still in progress," he explained at the time.
A lot can happen in almost a decade, but the Australian filmmaker teased recently that the sequels might still be on the table. "There's certainly more stories there," Miller said during Cannes Film Festival's press conference for Furiosa (via Deadline).
"Maybe because in order to tell the story of Fury Road, we needed to know about Furiosa and Max in the years before," he added.
Regardless of the many stories and scripts Miller might have in store, any further exploration of his post-apocalyptic universe will depend on Furiosa's success at the box office this year.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is out now in cinemas.
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Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over eight years. Based in the UK, she is a former deputy movies editor at Digital Spy, and previously worked for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas. Mireia's work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema and GamesRadar+ in the UK. She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London. LinkedIn
