Warner Bros sets 'Mad Max' prequel 'Furiosa' for 2023 release date
Watch: Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth join Furiosa
The long-awaited prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road — currently titled Furiosa — will be released on 23 June, 2023.
Warner Bros announced the release dates for a number of upcoming movies, with George Miller’s return to the world of Mad Max grabbing the headlines.
The studio will also release musical adaptation The Colour Purple on 20 December, 2023 and live-action/CG hybrid Coyote vs. Acme on 21 July, 2023.
Read more: Miller wants to honour Hugh Keays-Byrne in Furiosa
Miller has been talking about the potential for a movie about Furiosa ever since the character — played by Charlize Theron — became the breakout star of his acclaimed 2015 return to the franchise.
Theron will not return to play Furiosa in the movie, with The Queen’s Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy cast to portray a younger version of the deadly driver.
Miller opted against using de-aging technology to maintain Theron in the role, with the star saying it was “tough to swallow” the fact she wouldn’t get to reprise the character.
Read more: Theron wants Furiosa to have the impact of Ripley
She said: “It’s a little heart-breaking, for sure. I really love that character, and I’m so grateful that I had a small part in creating her. She will forever be someone I think of and reflect on fondly.
“Obviously, I would love to see that story continue, and if he feels like he has to go about it this way, then I trust him in that manner.”
Chris Hemsworth and Candyman star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II are also a part of the ensemble.
Miller has finally secured a return to the franchise after years mired in a legal dispute with Warner Bros following a payment issue around Fury Road.
The 75-year-old director — who created the series, with Mel Gibson in the title role, in 1979 — has also written the script for a sequel, entitled The Wasteland.
Read more: Theron and Tom Hardy discuss Fury Road feud
Furiosa will pick up on the character in her twenties, exploring her time in the paradise of the Green Place with the Vuvalini group of female warriors.
The film will be Miller’s next project after he completes work on Three Thousand Years of Longing with Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton.
Watch: George Miller and Nicholas Hoult discuss Mad Max: Fury Road
