Even though Charlize Theron (Prometheus) stole the show in this summer’s Mad Max: Fury Road as Imperator Furiosa, the character’s introduction might have also been her swan song. In an interview with Digital Spy, writer/director George Miller (Babe: Pig in the City) said that the character might not make another appearance.

While Miller confirmed that the character won’t return in the announced sequel Mad Max: Wasteland, he didn’t give a definitive answer ruling out the character’s return later on.

I’m not sure, is the answer. She’s not in the Mad Max (sequel) story, but in one of the stories there’s an interaction between (Max and Furiosa). I can’t really say more than that because it’s still in progress.

In the quote, Miller is referring to the many “stories.” Miller claimed to “have four days” in the Mad Max universe and confirmed  in the same interview that he has two more scripts ready to go for the series, creating a potential second Mad Max trilogy.

Given the film’s story, it makes sense that Furiosa wouldn’t return in the sequel. Miller has committed to making the character a wandering traveler – similar to Clint Eastwood’s “Man With No Name” – who gets caught up in various adventures with characters living in the post-apocalyptic world. One of the criticisms surrounding Fury Road was that Max was underdeveloped and less interesting when compared to Furiosa and the other characters so it makes sense that Miller would want to focus on his backstory in a sequel. However, studio pressure could force Furiosa to be put back into the movie, even if it’s just in a flashback. The structure of past trilogies also set precedent for the characters of the first film disappearing for the second chapter, only  to return for the finale.

Even if she doesn’t return to the Mad Max franchise, Theron’s performance in the first film has already made her part of Hollywood’s growing list of action heroines. Theron recently took the lead role in the Russo Brothers adaptation of the spy novel The Gray Man, forcing script rewrites to allow for a female lead. She’s also set to return as Ravenna in the sequel The Huntsman.

Mad Max: Wasteland is currently in early pre-production. We’ll have more on the film as it develops.