George Miller Discusses MAD MAX's Furiosa and The Future of Her Character
Charlize Theron's Furiosa was one of my favorite characters in Mad Max: Fury Road. I really hope that won't be the last we see of her. After the success of the first film, we all knew that one day we'd get another sequel, but will that sequel include Furiosa? We know George Miller would like to include her, and it sounds like he's taking steps toward making it happen.
Miller was recent a guest on Entertainment Weekly's Sirius satellite radio program, and while on the show he talked about the popularity of Theron's character and whether or not he'll revisit the character in future Mad Max films. The director confirmed that he's currently in talks with the studio. When asked about a sequel, he said:
"Certainly [I'm] having conversations about it. But I’m not sure if it’s the very next movie I want to do. I’ve got something a bit smaller before we go back out into the wasteland — something that’s contemporary that we can get through fairly quickly. And something with not too much technical difficulty. Something more performance-based and so on, just to clear the exhaust."
This isn't the first time we've heard that Miller was looking to do something on a smaller scale, so it seems like were going to have to wait a bit longer before we see him rev the engines again. I hope he doesn't wait too long! As far as Furiosa goes, when asked if he would include her in the story, he said:
"Yeah, she’s a pretty compelling character so it would be great to tell her story. Her backstory is really interesting. We only allude to it in this movie because this movie is on the run; people don’t have much time for recreational talk. But you pick up, you have a sense of her having gone through stuff. That’s what the film is trying to do. You’re trying to put a lot of iceberg under the tip, I like saying. One of the things that’s really gratifying, people are reading the film more than just the surface — the events of the movie, and just picking up a lot of stuff underneath it, which is very deliberate......So in many ways, the audience is picking up a lot about Furiosa — or enough to intrigue. And she’s got an interesting story."
He goes on to talk about the other characters in the story, saying that each one of them could basically have their own movie, and then focuses his attention on the Doof Warrior:
“I could tell the stories of every character in the story. I could tell the story of the guitar and the Doof Warrior. I can tell you the story of how his guitar was made, and how he survived, effectively a blind guitarist who only can speak through the guitar really and how he survived the apocalypse. And how he got to be basically working for Immortan’s army and so on. So everything has to have a backstory.”
I wish we wouldn't have to wait so long for another Mad Max film, but it very well could be another five years or so before we see another one. I'd love to know what exactly Miller is cooking up for it!