“Mad Max” fans know that topping “Fury Road” is most likely an impossible task, but it sounds like the upcoming prequel “Furiosa” has a few action-packed tricks up its sleeve to deliver the goods. Speaking to Total Film magazine, director George Miller’s longtime producing partner Doug Mitchell let it slip that “Furiosa” contains “one 15-minute sequence which took us 78 days to shoot” and required 200 stunt people on set daily. The code name for the sequence during production was “Stairway to Nowhere.”
“George and I would have these big conversations about why this particular set-piece was so long,” leading star Anya Taylor-Joy told the publication. “It’s because you see an accumulation of skills over the course of a battle, and that’s very important for understanding how resourceful Furiosa is, but also her grit. It’s the longest sequence any of us have ever shot. On the day we finished, everybody got a ‘Stairway to Nowhere’ wine!”
Anya Taylor-Joy takes over from Charlize Theron for the epic origin story of how Furiosa was kidnapped from her home as a young child by the Warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) and his Biker Horde before she fought for vengeance to reunite with her family and her homeland.
Popular on Variety
Both Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth recently popped up at CinemaCon earlier this month to tout “Furiosa” and preview explosive new footage from the action prequel.
“It’s a story of relentless hope,” Taylor-Joy told attendees. She also praised Miller’s production design, direction and VFX sensibilities as artful as he “painted every scene, and I mean he paints.”
From Variety’s report on the new footage shown: “The result was a sonic and visual onslaught of fire, metal, chainmail, war paint, crushed bones and bloodsoaked revenge. In other words, it played fucking awesome in the room. The overwhelming footage will likely be a sensation in the IMAX format, given the audience response.”
“Furiosa” will open in theaters May 24 from Warner Bros. after world premiering out of competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.