Mad Max: Fury Road (one of the best movies of the 2010s) was primarily filmed in Africa, unlike the first three films in the franchise, Mad Max, Mad Max 2, and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, which were shot in Australia. But the upcoming Furiosa spinoff will return to director George Miller’s home country.
Furiosa, starring Anya Taylor-Joy (playing a younger version of Charlize Theron’s character from Fury Road), Chris Hemsworth, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, will be the “the largest film ever to be filmed” in Australia, “bringing at least $350 million into the state’s economy and involving 850 jobs,” according to the Sydney Morning Herald. It’s unclear how many of the jobs will involve knowing how to play an instrument that blasts fire, but hopefully it’s at least 50. Miller said that unlike Fury Road, which “essentially happened over three days and two nights,” Furiosa “happens over many years. You try to make films that are ‘uniquely familiar.’ This will be familiar to those people who know Mad Max, and in particular Fury Road, but also it will be unique”:
While many big movies have been heading to streaming services, Miller said “this is a story that I can’t wait to see in a cinema.” Hemsworth said that having grown up watching Miller’s iconic series, joining the cast was the biggest “pinch myself moment” in his acting career. “It’s a huge honor,” he said. “A lot of pressure but exciting pressure that is certainly motivating.”
It’s an arms race between Australia and New Zealand for the most impressive production. I’ll take dusty car bandits over hobbits any day, thank you very much.
