Australia’s Herald Sun newspaper has reported that last year’s Mad Max: Fury Road follow-up, titled Mad Max: The Wasteland, has already begun pre-production in New South Wales, with filming to begin as early as the end of this year.
This prequel will be starring Oscar winner Charlize Theron in her reprisal of the character Imperator Furiosa. Arguably the stand out role and performance in Fury Road, the prequel will look to tell Furiosa’s origin story. No other characters or actors have been announced thus far, but it doesn’t appear likely that Tom Hardy will be back as the titular Max.
One thing that has been confirmed is that director George Miller will be back to helm the film. A past interview, however, reveals contradicting statements that he wasn’t planning on returning to the post-apocalyptic series until after he did another project. As of now, though, he is not attached to any other film, aside from producing The Justice League, and the Herald Sun newspaper is the only source confirming the production status on The Wasteland. He has also previously said that Furiosa would not be making any major appearance in Mad Max sequels, aside from a short interaction between she and Max in one of them. Perhaps the fact that this is being labeled a “prequel” excuses this film from Miller’s statements. Whether the rumors are true or not, only time (and additional sources!) will tell.
Mad Max: Fury Road made $378 million worldwide and was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, 6 of which it won for Film Editing, Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Production Design. It managed to cross over between art house and blockbuster territory, being one of the most successful hits for both audiences and critics in recent memory. Fans are undoubtedly clamoring to see what Miller and Theron will bring to the screen next, and it looks like they won’t have to wait too much longer.