Furiosa’s back, that much is certain, but just how she will look in the recently-announced prequel to
Mad Max: Fury Road is another question. All we know is that Charlize Theron won’t be jumping back into the role of the fearless and kick-ass heroine who led the Oscar-winning 2016 film.Long-time
Mad Max director George Miller has said that the prequel will focus on Furiosa’s early life, and thus, he wants a young 20-something actress to play her. And according to Charlize, who is 44, it was a rather gutting announcement.“It’s a tough one to swallow,” she recently told
The Hollywood Reporter. “Yeah, it’s a little heartbreaking, 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.”What, they couldn’t
Benjamin-Button Furiosa?[video_embed id='-1']RELATED: Charlize Theron shares how she’s recovering after her latest on-set injury[/video_embed]Back in May, Miller nixed that idea, saying in conversation with
The New York Times, “For the longest time, I thought we could just use CG de-aging on Charlize, but I don’t think we’re nearly there yet,” Miller said. “Despite the valiant attempts on
The Irishman, I think there’s still an uncanny valley. Everyone is on the verge of solving it, particular Japanese video-game designers, but there’s still a pretty wide valley, I believe.”“Listen, I fully respect George,” the South African Oscar-winner went on to say diplomatically, “if not more so in the aftermath of making
Fury Road with him. He’s a master, and I wish him nothing but the best.”Miller is the brains behind the original
Mad Max trilogy (
Mad Max, Mad Max 2, and
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome), all of which starred a young Mel Gibson still sporting his Australian accent.
Mad Max: Fury Road saw Miller recast Gibson’s role with Tom Hardy, who
famously butted heads with Theron, with both admitting that the tension arose from fear and wanting to survive the difficult shoot.We don’t yet know which actress will get the opportunity to sink her teeth into the meaty role of Furiosa not do we know when the prequel will begin shooting. Miller has stated that he wants to complete his film
Three Thousand Years of Longing starring Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba first, which because of the global pandemic, he has been unable to finish up just yet. Production for the prequel was originally scheduled to commence this past spring, but the shut-down of all Hollywood productions has delayed the start indefinitely.[video_embed id='1990322']RELATED: John Legend on his new love songs for Chrissy Teigen[/video_embed]
