Anya Taylor-Joy Talks Taking the Role of Furiosa In MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Prequel and Stepping Into Charlize Theron's Shoes

Anya Taylor-Joy (Split, Glass, Peaky Blinders, The New Mutants) has signed on to play Furiosa in the untitled George Miller-directed Mad Max: Fury Road prequel. The role was first established in Mad Max: Fury Road by Charlize Theron, and the character was so badass that the director decided to give her a spin-off story of her own, but decided to do it in a prequel.

Taking over the role of the great Charlize Theron is a huge undertaking for Taylor-Joy, and the actress says she “can’t even think about trying to step into her shoes,” but she tells MTV’s Happy Sad Confused podcast (via IndieWire) that she’s not looking to recreate the performance, but to reimagine it, and do something different.

She said:

“I fell in love with Furiosa because of the way Charlize presented her. She did such an incredible job. It was so beautiful. I can’t even think about trying to step into her shoes. It has to be something different because it just can’t be done. […] I’ve already started dreaming about [Furiosa] and she’s coming in very strong. I’m so committed to working as hard as possible as I can. I always said that I wanted a role that I would have to give everything to, it wouldn’t just be my mind but my body, what I’m doing with myself when I’m not on set. I’m so excited for that and to push myself past the limits of what my brain thought was possible.”

It sounds like the actress is all in, just as Theron was before her. This is a physically demanding role, and she is excited to tackle it. This makes me even more excited to see what she delivers. Anya Taylor-Joy will star alongside Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. The origin film is in pre-production. Are you looking forward to seeing the actress take on the role of Furiosa?