Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a 2024 post-apocalyptic action film directed and produced by George Miller, who wrote the screenplay with Nico Lathouris. It is the fifth installment in Miller’s Mad Max franchise, and the first not focused on series protagonist Max Rockatansky, instead acting as both a spin-off prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and an origin story for the Fury Road character Furiosa, portrayed by Anya Taylor-Joy and Alyla Browne in the prequel. Set 15 to 20 years before the events of Fury Road, the film follows the title character’s life for over a decade, from her kidnapping by the forces of warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) to her ascension to the rank of Imperator. Tom Burke also stars as Praetorian Jack, a military commander who befriends Furiosa. Several Fury Road cast members return in supporting roles, including John Howard, Nathan Jones, and Angus Sampson reprising their characters.
Miller initially intended to shoot Furiosa back-to-back with Fury Road, but the former spent several years in development hell amidst salary disputes with Warner Bros. Pictures, Fury Road‘s distributor. Several crew members from Fury Road returned for Furiosa, including Lathouris, producer Doug Mitchell, composer Tom Holkenborg, costume designer Jenny Beavan and editor Margaret Sixel (Miller’s wife). Filming took place in Australia from June to October 2022.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on 15 May 2024. It was released theatrically in Australia on 23 May 2024 and in the United States the following day. The film received positive reviews from critics, but became a box-office bomb, grossing $172.8 million against its budget of $168 million.[7]
