The ‘Mad Max’ Prequel Finally Has A Cast & It Is STACKED
When Mad Max: Fury Road arrived in 2015, it included a breakout character no one saw coming: Furiosa. Played by Charlize Theron, Imperator Furiosa is initially a war captain under Immortan Joe, but turns against him, freeing his enslaved concubines, the "Five Wives." This post-apocalyptic heroine captured the imaginations of fans, who have clamored for a prequel focused on her character ever since. Turns out, Warner Bros. was listening, and the Mad Max Furiosa prequel cast comes complete with a rising star to play the young Furiosa: Anya Taylor-Joy.
Taylor-Joy has been on a hot streak since starring in Split and Glass in 2016 and 2019, respectively. Her 2020 started with the title role in Emma, one of the last films to make it to the theaters before the coronavirus pandemic shut everything down. She also starred in the first major film to hit theaters as soon as things opened back up at the end of August, with her turn as Illyana Rasputin in The New Mutants.
Her next role will be starring in Netflix's The Queen's Gambit. It comes after starring in the streamer's one-season wonder The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Taking over such a hotly anticipated role, originated by the Oscar-winner Theron, cements her spot on Hollywood's A-list.
Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will join her as her co-stars. Warner Bros. did not clarify what roles the two will be playing, but this does complicate things somewhat, considering how bust these actors are. Abdul-Mateen is a hot property since his Emmy-winning turn in Watchmen and is currently slated to co-star in The Matrix 4, the franchise's major revival. Moreover, Hemsworth, a household name due to The Avengers, is supposedly about to start filming the Thor franchise's fourth installment, Thor: Love & Thunder, beginning in January.
At least Hemsworth will be on the right continent, as Love & Thunder will get underway in Australia, the site of all Mad Max films since Mel Gibson launched the franchise in the late 1970s. Luckily, The Matrix is another Warner project, so Abdul-Mateen may be able to split his time between both shoots.
However, the constrained schedules of both co-stars suggests filmmaker George Miller isn't planning on production starting anytime soon. And the sheer backlog of films waiting to come out when the pandemic finally retreats enough for theaters to run at full capacity may also cause delays. As hotly as anticipated as this film is, it may be a project that doesn't get off the ground until 2022 or later.
