The Mad Max franchise will return this year with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Starring Anya Taylor-Joy in the lead role and Chris Hemsworth as the villain, director George Miller explained why he cast the two actors.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga serves both as a spin-off and a prequel to 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road. It introduces Taylor-Joy as the titular character Imperator Furiosa, taking over the role from Charlize Theron, and Hemsworth as Warlord Dementus. George Miller returns as director, and the post-apocalyptic action film is based on a script Miller co-wrote with Nico Lathouris, and the director explained why he cast Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth.

During CinemaCon 2024, the famous director explained that he chose Taylor-Hoy based on her performance in Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho. However, Hemsworth wasn't a contender for the role, but he was quickly impressed by the actor's ideas.

"Well, they are both absolutely superb," Miller gushed over the two actors (via ScreenRant). "Anya is — Edgar Wright showed me Last Night in Soho just before it was released. I saw Anya in that, and I said, "She'd be good for" — and he said, "Do it, do it." Without me even telling him what it was, he said, "Do it. She's great. She's great.""

He continued, "There's something about her, it's almost difficult to put it into words. There's something mystical about her, and yet there's an accessibility. I learned that she was somebody who is very, very disciplined, and she's very young. She was a ballet dancer, Charlize was a ballet dancer. I worked on Happy Feet with a lot of brilliant dancers, and I understand the physical discipline, as well as emotional discipline they have. So, all of that led to Anya being Furiosa."

The director explained, "In terms of Chris, I knew the character, I never thought of Chris until we met and we talked. I realized he was somebody with a lot more [ideas] than I initially thought of him... So, I thought, "Well, I can't wait to see [what he does]." He [resonated] really well with the material, so I thought, "Let's just see what he can do with it."

The Mad Max Prequel Follows Furiosa's Story

Although Anya Taylor-Joy is new to the Mad Max franchise, her character isn't. Taylor-Joy is taking over the role from Charlize Theron, who previously starred in 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road. However, the film will follow a young Furiosa.

The official plot for the upcoming action film reads, "As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home." Aside from Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth, the film also stars Alyla Broen, Tom Burke, and Lachy Hulme in key roles.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga will hit movie theaters on May 24, 2024.

Source: ScreenRant