‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ prequel starring Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy to film in Australia
A prequel film to Mad Max: Fury Road starring Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy will reportedly be filmed in the Australian outback ahead of its 2023 release.
The news was announced Monday (April 19) in a press conference at the Australian state New South Wales with director George Miller and Hemsworth confirming that the spin-off was preparing to film in the Australian territory next year.
Furiosa is expected to become the biggest film ever made in the country, according to New South Wales state premier Gladys Berejiklian.
The film is expected to revive the local economy amid the pandemic, supporting more than 850 local jobs and bringing in $350 million to the economy.
Great news the Mad Max prequel – Furiosa starring Chris Hemsworth – is being filmed right here in NSW. The biggest ever film to be made in Australia, supporting more than 850 local jobs and bringing in $350 million to the economy. pic.twitter.com/HzZXcqeAUt
— Gladys Berejiklian (@GladysB) April 19, 2021
Australian actor Hemsworth, who is currently in his home country shooting Thor: Love and Thunder, expressed his excitement being involved in the film.
"It really is, out of everything I've done, the biggest 'pinch-myself' moment, because I've grown up watching it (Mad Max) and it's so iconic,” the Thor actor said in Sydney. "It is a huge honour. A lot of pressure, but exciting pressure that is certainly motivating."
The Queen’s Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy will be playing a younger version of Imperator Furiosa, after Charlize Theron's critically-acclaimed performance in the first film.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (HBO's Watchmen) has also been cast to star in Furiosa in an undisclosed role.
In a previous interview with The New York Times in 2020, Miller said the film would follow the adventures of the post-apocalyptic revolutionary with a big heart prior to the events of Fury Road, detailing the lead-up to her stature as a preeminent war captain for the tyrannical Immortan Joe.
Locations across New South Wales will be used during filming, including the inland mining town of Broken Hill in the far west of outback New South Wales, which is surrounded by semi-desert, will provide the post-apocalyptic landscapes for the franchise.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) which starred Tom Hardy and Theron was previously filmed in South Africa. Production mainly took place in the Dorob National Park, a protected area along the central Namibian coast, as well as Cape Town Film Studios in Cape Town, South Africa.
Miller, the franchise's writer and director, said he was "grateful" to be able to make the film in his home country, adding he was excited by the role that film-making was playing in Australia's recovery from the pandemic.
Australia has recently been dubbed "Aussiewood" in the media, given the number of films currently in production there due to the low risk of Covid and the number of stars that have swapped the Hollywood hills for the freedom in the country.
Furiosa is slated for release on June 23, 2023.
(Images via Warner Bros.)