Warner Bros. has pushed back the release date of Furiosa, George Miller’s prequel to his latest epic Mad Max: Fury Road, by a year, now scheduled for the Memorial Day holiday weekend on May 24th, 2024. It was previously slated to hit theaters on June 23rd, 2023,  but due to COVID-19, this was among many projects that got delayed.

The movie stars Anya Taylor-Joy in the title role, previously played by Charlize Theron, in an iconic performance. Alongside her stars Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who has gained praise for his portrayal of young Morpheus in another new Warner Brothers franchise addition, The Matrix Resurrections. 

Furiosa’s production will take place in New South Wales, Australia in 2022. It’s expected to be the biggest film production to ever take place in the region, outdoing even the one-and-a-half-year shoot of Fury Road from 2012 into 2013, as reported by IndieWire.

Miller was reportedly impressed by Taylor-Joy in an early cut of Last Night in Soho, Edgar Wright’s upcoming fall feature release, and he discussed this with Wright in a conversation with Empire Magazine. Wright was eager to recommend the actress, Miller said, and he contacted her to audition virtually reciting the iconic “I’m mad as hell” monologue from 1976 news drama Network:

“Anya did one version, which was really good. Then I gave her just a couple of simple notes about intention and she just absolutely nailed [it]. I think it was done on an iPhone.” Miller sent it to the studio, made his case, and they immediately greenlit the casting choice.

2024 is a long way from now, but Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and Fury Road are now streaming on HBO Max, for those interested in catching up before Furiosa’s release. Taylor-Joy’s next film Last Night in Soho hits theaters in the U.S. and U.K. on October 29th, 2021.