It’s starting to become extremely obvious to most that George Miller‘s “Mad Max: Fury Road” wasn’t just rebooting the world and character by having British actor Tom Hardy (“Dunkirk,” “Inception,” “The Dark Knight Rises“) replace Mel Gibson, but also introducing a brand new leading character, Charlize Theron‘s Furiosa.
George Miller Says ‘Furiosa’ Takes Place “Over Many Years” As Film Preps For June Production Start
During a lengthy chat with Esquire to promote “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” Tom Hardy says he is well aware that the film was meant to be Furiosa’s movie and ultimately is championing the “changing of the guard” in the franchise shifting towards Furiosa becoming the protagonist with own solo/prequel film starring Anya Taylor-Joy.
“That was ultimately Furiosa’s movie,” he said of “Mad Max: Fury Road.” “Which was fantastic. ‘Fury Road. Furiosa.’ It was in the title,” Tom Hardy said of the last installment.
“If you look at it now, it was a changeover of hands in a way, from Mad Max to Furiosa. That’s what they’re filming now. Furiosa. It was a very well-implemented changing of the guard. [Miller’s] still got Mad Max, but he’s split his feed between two characters, and that’s really, really cool.”
READ MORE: Tom Hardy’s Passion For ‘Venom’ Earned Him A Writing Credit On ‘Let There Be Carnage’
“Furiosa” is set to shoot at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney (recently used for “Shang-Chi” and “Thor: Love & Thunder“) with a cast that also consists of action flick heavy-weights such as MCU legacy actor Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (“Candyman,” “Aquaman,” “Matrix 4,” “Watchmen“).
Warner Bros. has already given the film release date of June 23, 2023. Hardy also spoke about hoping for a third “Venom” movie and what he hopes is an inevitable crossover with Spider-Man.
There is still an expectation, or at least hope, that George Miller will eventually return to Hardy’s Max at some point as the filmmaker wrote both a Furiosa movie and a follow-up to “Fury Road” that will feature the gruff loner during the production hiatus of “Fury Road.”