News From the Wasteland: Furiosa Prequel Story In The Works, Theron Not Returning

Even though Mad Max: Fury Road (among many other things) maestro George Miller has delayed his shoot for the upcoming Edris Elba/Tilda Swinton djinn-and-tonic romantic fantasy, Three Thousand Years of Longing, the 75 year-old director continues to push forward (yet also backward), this time with a Fury Road prequel centering on the Furiosa character originally played by Charlize Theron.

A script has apparently long been finished, but its original purpose was to function as a “bible” of sorts during the Fury Road shoot; intended to provide  Theron with background on Furiosa and her past, in order to help inform her acting choices.

Now, auditions are under way to find a younger Furiosa, and Anya Taylor-Joy (The VVitch, Split) looks to be the front-runner so far.
At the outset, Miller had planned on having a CGI de-aged Theron for the role (ala The Irishman) but ultimately scrapped the plan citing “uncanny valley” concerns.

George Miller, per The New York Times:

“Despite the valiant attempts on The Irishman, I think there’s still an uncanny valley. Everyone is on the verge of solving it, particularly Japanese video-game designers, but there’s still a wide valley, I believe.”

This is good news for those that may have been a tad freaked-out seeing a young Robert De Niro-head grafted onto a shambling old-man body.
Better news yet would be Anya Taylor-Joy landing the role, she certainly has the physical chops, and her brooding, “interior” style of acting would seem perfect for the hugely popular Furiosa character (let’s face it: Tom Hardy’s Max Rockatansky was more or less the second lead in Fury Road).

If you wanna get out of the “uncanny valley”, you talk to her.

-MK