Charlize Theron, the Hollywood star whose role inMad Max: Fury Roadwas a very important blueprint for 2024’sFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga, has finally shared what she thinks of George Miller’s prequel movie. Released in May 2024, the fifth movie in the Mad Max franchise received a decent reception at the box office, butnot enough to make it profitable. During the annual Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project event, the star confirmed she has seen the new film and, in her own words, said:
It’s amazing, it’s a beautiful film.
Theron’s reaction toFuriosais a big deal because she was the first to give life to the character in 2015’sMad Max: Fury Road. After that movie became a blockbuster hit, talk of a further expansion to theMad Maxuniverse began, leading to the development of the prequel. Naturally, the fact that the movie is set years beforeFury Roadmeant thatTheron would not play the titular role. Instead,Anya Taylor-Joytook over the role as a younger Furiosa. In the film, she battles a warlord called Dementus, who kidnaps her when she was just a child.Furiosaalso shows a world in which Immortan Joe,Fury Road’s villain, rules one part of the wasteland and whose workforce Furiosa infiltrates.
PerThe Hollywood Reporter’s chronicle of the event, Theron expands on her views aboutFuriosaand whether or not she has met Taylor-Joy:
“No, we’ve really been trying to connect. It’s been one of those - we can actually make a comedy out of it. We keep running into each other and in places when we don’t have time to really talk to each other, so we’re constantly like, ‘Oh my god, OK, let’s get together!’ And then life takes over. But it will happen when it’s right.”
The Legacy of the Furiosa Character is Made Stronger With a Great Origin Story
Many questions that arose inMad Max: Fury Road, and which had shrouded the character in mystery, are now answered in Furiosa. At its core, the film is a revenge story. Though mostly silent, Furiosa is loud when displaying her motivations. She won’t stop until she stops the monster that made her mother suffer, and she will do so with the violence that’s characteristic of the wasteland.
Furiosa and the Development Hell That Led to a Box Office Bomb
The box office failure of Furiosa is the result of WB and George Miller failing to strike while the iron was hot after Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015.
However, the film also draws a short subplot that makes her more humane in her quest. Praetorian Jack is Furiosa’s greatest ally and the character who she is comparable to when she becomes Imperator Furiosa inFury Road. He’s the rebellious pilot of the rig that makes Immortan Joe’s commercial endeavor possible. He’s also a great emotional driver for Furiosa’s ultimate decision tosubject Dementus to a painful death. AfterFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga, it becomes clear why the character behaves the way she does inMad Max: Fury Road. This character “connection” is only possible with great direction, a solid script, and performances by actors who, as Theron said, still have to meet.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagais available to rent or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
A prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa is an action-adventure film that tells the origin story of the headstrong and fearless Furiosa. Set shortly after the beginning of the “end of the world,” Furiosa is kidnapped and brought before a powerful warlord, now forced to work for him. To find her way back home, Furiosa will adapt to the new harsh and arid world as she grows into the Furiosa she becomes known to be.
