On Monday, Australian director George Miller branded his “Mad Max” series as “addictive” as he prepares to premiere the fifth film set in its high-octane, post-apocalyptic setting, the highly anticipated “Furiosa.”
“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” released in late May, tells the origin tale of Charlize Theron’s strong female warrior from 2015’s Oscar-winning picture “Mad Max: Fury Road.”
Anya Taylor-Joy will play the younger Furiosa, best known to a larger audience for her role in the blockbuster Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit.”
The film will have its lavish world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival early next month, but Miller revealed some early facts about the prequel during the CinemaCon movie theater convention in Las Vegas on Monday.
Miller explained that the concept came from the arduous preparations for “Fury Road,” in which he wrote up extensive childhoods and adventures for each character to help actors and crew traverse the universe.
“We had to understand everything about what we see on the screen — not only the backstory of every character, but every prop, every vehicle, every gesture,” said Miller.
When “Fury Road” became a success, making $380 million and won six Oscars, Miller realized that the film’s past was “a rich story to tell” on its own.
In the new scenario, little Furiosa is kidnapped from her house and becomes involved in a struggle between Immortan Joe, the villain from “Fury Road,” and his adversary Dementus, played by Chris Hemsworth of “Thor” fame.
It is the latest twist in a long path for a franchise that began with 1979’s “Mad Max” starring a youthful, leather-clad Mel Gibson fighting ruthless biker gangs.
Miller was working as a medical doctor in his native Australia at the time, and the young cinephile was greatly moved by the numerous road accident victims he saw in the hospital.
Miller’s ultra-low budget prevented him from shooting in large cities, forcing him to invent a barren, post-societal collapse setting.
“That was a really lucky thing, but because accidentally, the film — which otherwise would have been present-day, naturalistic — turned out to be more allegorical, unwittingly,” recalled Miller, now 79.
“And that’s sort of what led to ‘Mad Max,’ and that’s why we’re still doing them. Because they’re very addictive.”
‘Uniquely familiar’
The initial film made $100 million. Its global success spawned “Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior” in 1981 and “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” in 1985.
The fast-paced, violent pictures used a visual language that audiences around the world could understand without the need for subtitles or dubbing.
“In Japan, ‘Mad Max’ was regarded as a samurai.” The French referred to it as a ‘Western on wheels.’ Miller identified him as a Viking in Scandinavia.
A fourth installment was a long time coming, as Miller experimented with a wide range of films, including family flicks such as “Babe” and “Happy Feet.”
“Fury Road” was eventually released in 2015. Theron’s tough-as-nails Furiosa pushed Tom Hardy’s character, Max, to the background.
With strong feminist themes, jaw-dropping VFX, and expertly planned action sequences, it debuted at the renowned Cannes film festival and received ten Oscar nominations, including best picture and best director.
“Furiosa,” Miller told the CinemaCon audience, “is different.”
“You don’t want a film to be a repetition of what you’ve just done… it has to be ‘uniquely familiar,’ as I like to say.”