Down Under Doings: 'Max Max' Franchise Renewed With Prequel, 'Furiosa'

The “Mad Max” film franchise is being reanimated with a prequel that is set to become the most expensive film shot in Australia.

What Happened: The 2015 “Mad Max: Fury Road” from the AT&T Inc. T subsidiary Warner Bros. Pictures rebooted a franchise that was last seen in the 1985 “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.”

“Fury Road” had a global box office gross of nearly $500 million and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for George Miller, and won six honors.

Miller has announced the next installment in the series will be “Furiosa,” which will detail the early years of Furiosa, the war captain who switched sides to become a rebel insurgent in “Fury Road.”

Charlize Theron played Furiosa in “Fury Road” and her younger self in the prequel will be played by Anya Taylor-Joy, who won a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award earlier this year for her performance as chess prodigy Beth Harmon in the television series, “The Queen’s Gambit.”

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Why It Matters: “Furiosa” is being promoted as the most epic production created in Australia. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian took to Twitter to announce the film will be shot on location in the state and will bring a substantial infusion into its coffers.

“The biggest ever film to be made in Australia, supporting more than 850 local jobs and bringing in $350 million to the economy,” she tweeted. Berejiklian’s announcement also included a photograph of her with Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, who was signed to act in the film.

“Furiosa” is scheduled to begin production next year and is tentatively scheduled for release on June 23, 2023.

(Photo: Charlize Theron as Furiosa in 'Mad Max: Fury Road' CREDIT: Jasin Boland/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.)