Furiosa - What We Know So Far

There is little question that George Miller redefined the action genre (yet again) in 2015 when "Mad Max: Fury Road" debuted on the big screen. A brutal, yet elegant film, "Fury Road" saw a new Max step into the ring, with Tom Hardy standing in for franchise veteran Mel Gibson. However, despite the iconography of the titular hero, many fans (and Hardy himself) agreed that the true hero of the film was Charlize Theron's Furiosa.

Knowing how quickly Furiosa became a fan-favorite character, expectations are incredibly high for her upcoming spinoff movie. Specific details about the film remain scant at this time, but small morsels of information continue to come out about its release date and other details. These should get any self-respecting "Mad Max" fan excited about what's to come. With all of that said, let's dive in and look at everything that we currently know about "Furiosa" so far.

There have been some changes on the release date front for "Furiosa" in recent days. Per a report from Variety, Warner Bros. has pushed the planned release date of the "Mad Max" spinoff/prequel film to May 24, 2024. For reference, when "Furiosa" received its initial release date from Warner Bros., it was slotted into the schedule for June 23, 2023. This means the movie will come almost a full year after fans had initially expected it, and as of this time, the studio has not revealed the reason for the delay.

With that said, it's still worth remaining excited for "Furiosa" based on the new release date. Warner Bros. keeping the long-awaited spinoff close to a summer release window may show continued confidence in the project during the busiest moviegoing time of the year. Moreover, slotting the movie into a May release date is consistent with the original release strategy for Mad "Max: Fury Road" in 2015.

Charlize Theron arguably solidified her status as an action icon with the release of "Mad Max: Fury Road," but with the upcoming release of "Furiosa," the Oscar winner has handed to baton to up-and-comer Anya Taylor-Joy. Though she has far less experience in the traditional action genre than Theron, Taylor-Joy has already shown great promise as a leading lady across a broad range of indies and big-budget films. With her roles in thrillers like "Split" and "Glass" as well as her work on superhero projects like "The New Mutants," all eyes are on her to bring the necessary intensity and strength that audiences fell in love with when Theron played the part.

Though Furiosa will undoubtedly be the star of the show when Taylor-Joy steps in to fill her boots, the spinoff's cast has grown in recent weeks. Specifically, in addition to Taylor-Joy, it has been confirmed that "Thor" leading man Chris Hemsworth and "Candyman" star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II have joined the prequel cast. However, at this time, there is very little known about the actors' roles beyond their presence on the film's IMDb cast list, and it remains unclear who they will be playing and if they are villains or heroes in the final product.

Not much is known about the core plot of "Furiosa" at this time. However, "Mad Max" mastermind George Miller has confirmed that the film will be a prequel that explores her origins before being conscripted by the villainous Immortan Joe and that the story will take place over the course of multiple years, via IndieWire. This means we will likely see her living in The Green Place with the women of the Vuvalini, and the eventual kidnapping that leads her to fight with the War Boys.

Examining that information, it's clear that "Furiosa" will be considerably different when compared to other films in the "Mad Max" franchise. Historically, the series has told relatively contained stories that span short periods of time. For example, "Mad Max: Fury Road" takes place over the course of only a couple of days. However, with "Furiosa" covering several years, fans can likely expect a more epic character study, unlike anything this series has shown them before.