It's been nearly five years since the release of MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, and fans have been anxiously awaiting George Miller's return to the Wasteland. Despite the current COVID-19 pandemic bringing just about every film and TV production to a halt, there is work being done where it can, and buried in a Variety article comes a small tidbit regarding Miller's next MAD MAX film.
The outlet states that George Miller has been talking with several names, including THE NEW MUTANTS' Anya Taylor-Joy, for the lead of his Furiosa spin-off. These auditions have naturally been taking place via Skype, and it was also stated that George Miller hopes to start shooting the spin-off in 2021. While I'm certainly excited by the prospect of Miller bringing the next story of the MAD MAX franchise to life, I'm not about to hold my breath. First introduced in FURY ROAD, Imperator Furiosa was one of Immortan Joe's war captains, until she turned against him to free his wives. Charlize Theron played Furiosa in the 2015 film and has stated on more than one occasion that she'd love to reprise the role. It's not known whether Miller is looking at Anya Taylor-Joy to play Furiosa, perhaps a younger incarnation, or if she would be playing another lead in the film alongside Theron.
During the development of MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, George Miller wound up with enough material for two other stories, one of which would be a proper MAD MAX sequel, rumoured to be sub-titled THE WASTELAND, and the other which would be a Furiosa spin-off. Production delays as well as a lawsuit filed against Warner Bros. has pushed these projects back, but it seems that Miller is at least working towards getting MAD MAX: FURIOSA off the ground in the next year or two.