Now that we finally managed to have a sneak peek into the highly anticipatedFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga, it’s time to shift gears to reverse and take a look back at the panel that revealed it all last night in São Paulo.During the CCXP event,Mad MaxdirectorGeorge Millertook the stage withAnya Taylor-JoyandChris Hemsworthto talk about the project and their filming experience.
After a theatrical entrance involving pyrotechnics and motorcycles, Miller was welcomed in stage by mediatorAline Dinizand he got to explain why he hasstuck with the franchise for so long. The Academy Award winner has been writing and helming theMad Maxmoviesever since the late 70s, and he stated that he keeps going back because “can’t help doing more” after the public resonates with each installment. Miller commented that his head inevitably goes into “what if this happened?” mode and some elements of theMad Maxuniverse start coming to him.
That’s howFuriosaended up coming to life. Miller commented that as he was coming up with the backstory of Imperator Furiosa (then played byCharlize Theron), her story became more and more solid inside his mind. It was such a strong character that you’re certain to find a lot of folk who state she’s the true protagonist ofMad Max: Fury Road.
How Did George Miller Choose Anya Taylor-Joy to Play Furiosa?
The director then revealed that he wasn’t familiar with Taylor-Joy’s work when he began searching for someone to play the title character. His first contact with the actor was when his friend and fellow directorEdgar Wrightinvited him to see anearly cut ofLast Night in Soho. He was so mesmerized by her performance that when he told Wright he might consider her for theMad Maxprequel, Wright immediately went “do it” and promised him he wouldn’t regret it. Apparently, Wright was right.
When Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth took the stage –with a horde of fans screaming at the top of their lungs– they revealed bits of the story ofFuriosa. Taylor-Joy stated that Furiosa takes place 45 years after the Collapse and pretty early in the story we’ll get to know how she was made into a fierce survivalist. The same is true forHemsworth’s character Dementus. The Marvel star revealed that his character is a “violent, brutal person” and “a product of the Wasteland,” which means he was raised in a kill or be killed environment.
‘Furiosa’ Timeline Revealed by George Miller
Miller revealed that whileFury Roadtook place over the course of just three days, the timeline ofFuriosawill be a lot heftier:We’ll follow fifteen years of Furiosa’s life, and according to the director the movie is as much hers as it is Dementus’.
At that point, the conversation turned to the action stunts – which Taylor-Joy revealed she did as much as she was allowed to – and the new deadly vehicles we can expect to see. Miller stated that it was better to see it than to describe it, which was when they decided tounveil the first-ever trailer forFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga. The director also revealed later that, in production terms, yesterday was the very first day of publicity for the movie, so we can expect to see a lot more from now till late May.
The trailer gave us a pretty good glimpse of what we’ll see inFuriosa, including monster trucks, the classic spear-throwing at tires, a younger Immortan Joe, Chris Hemsworth with an awkward nose and, of course, sand. A lot of sand.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagapremieres in theaters on May 24. You can watch the trailer below:
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
The origin story of renegade warrior Furiosa before her encounter and team-up with Mad Max.
