VARIETY – George Miller has tapped Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II to star in “Furiosa,” the prequel movie based on Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa character from 2015’s “Mad Max: Fury Road.”
Taylor-Joy will play title role, a younger version of Furiosa. Miller had said in a May interview with The New York Times that he’d been searching for searching for an actress in her 20s to take over the role. He said at the time he had considered using de-aging technology in order to allow Theron — who’s 44 –to play the part again, but has decided against doing so. Taylor-Joy is 24.
Miller will direct, co-write and produce “Furiosa,” along with his longtime producing partner Doug Mitchell. The film will be produced by Miller’s own Australian-based Kennedy Miller Mitchell banner, together with “Fury Road” partner Warner Bros. Pictures.
In prepping the “Fury Road” script, Miller and co-writer Nick Lathouris developed origin stories for every character, but not much was revealed about Furiosa’s past. In the film, she is a war captain under the cruel leader Immortan Joe, but turns against him in order to free Joe’s concubines. She then forms an alliance with Max Rockatansky, portrayed by Tom Hardy. Miller has directed all four “Mad Max” movies and was nominated for best picture and best director for “Fury Road” at the 2015 Oscars.
Hemsworth has starred in the “Avengers” and “Thor” films as well as the recent “Extraction.” His other film credits include “Bad Times at the El Royale,” “12 Strong,” “In the Heart of the Sea,” “Rush,” “Snow White and the Huntsman,” and “Star Trek.” He is repped by CAA and attorney Matt Galsor at Greenberg Glusker.
Miller’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes production designer Colin Gibson, editor Margaret Sixel, sound mixer Ben Osmo, and makeup designer Lesley Vanderwalt, each of whom won an Oscar for their work on “Mad Max: Fury Road.”
‘Mad Max’ Prequel ‘Furiosa’ Casts Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller, Jurnee Smollett Set By Netflix For Joseph Kosinski-Directed ‘Spiderhead’
DEADLINE – EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has set a killer cast for Spiderhead, landing Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller and Lovecraft Country breakout Jurnee Smollett to star in the Joseph Kosinski-directed adaptation of the George Saunders short story. Script is by Zombieland and Deadpool scribes Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick.
Kosinski is making this his next film after directing Top Gun: Maverick with Tom Cruise, which boasts Teller as one of its stars.
Spiderhead is set in the near future, when convicts are offered the chance to volunteer as medical subjects in hopes of shortening their sentences. The focus is on two prisoners who become the test patients for emotion-altering drugs that force the prisoners to grapple with their pasts in a facility run by a brilliant visionary who supervises the program.
The film will be produced by Eric Newman for Screen Arcade through the producer’s first-look deal at Netflix, along with Chris Hemsworth; Oren Katzeff and Geneva Wasserman for The New Yorker Studios; Reese & Wernick, Tommy Harper and Jeremy Steckler
Saunders’ short story first ran in The New Yorker and was later collected in his bestselling anthology, Tenth Of December.
Hemsworth just toplined Extraction, the AGBO-produced action film that became Netflix’s most watched feature ever, with a sequel coming. Smollett, who burst on the scene in the latter seasons of Friday Night Lights, most recently co-starred on the big screen in Harley Quinn: Birds Of Prey.
Besides Top Gun: Maverick, Teller’s other credits include Whiplash and Only the Brave.
Hemsworth, Teller, Smollett and Kosinski are all repped by CAA. Hemsworth is also repped by Fourward and Morrissey Management and Smollett is also repped by Management 360 and Del, Shaw, Moonves, Tanaka, Finkelstein & Lezcano. Teller is also repped by Chad Christopher at Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.