Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa will be released in 2023

Were you captivated by Anya Taylor-Joy's performance in the riveting chess drama The Queen's Gambit? Then good news: she's taking centre stage again in the upcoming sequel to Mad Max: Fury Road. 

Taylor-Joy will be playing the younger iteration of Charlize Theron's Imperator Furiosa, who cut a swathe through a post-apocalyptic landscape in the 2015 hit. Once again, George Miller will be at the helm, expanding the violent action franchise he initiated way back in 1979 with a young Mel Gibson.

The movie, tautly titled Furiosa, will also star Thor's Chris Hemsworth and Watchmen's Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (also the star of the upcoming Candyman sequel). Deadline confirms that Furiosa will be released in 2023, offering us more insight into the shaven-headed road warrior.

Theron's character stole the show in Fury Road, acting as the narrative and moral backbone of the piece while Tom Hardy's titular Max was more of a backseat driver. The film explored Furiosa's quest to reach her old homeland, only to find it destroyed. This compelled her towards a final act of explosive, extraordinary vengeance against warlord Immortan Joe (the late Hugh Keays-Byrne), whose 'wives' Furiosa had stolen and attempted to liberate.

No doubt the prequel movie will fill in the blanks as to how Furiosa became this fiercely driven character. Anya Taylor-Joy's performance as chess prodigy Beth Harmon in The Queen's Gambit demonstrated her skill with depicting complex individuals, adding to portrayals in the acclaimed likes of The Witch and Split. We're therefore very excited to see her role as the younger Furiosa.

The Furiosa film will reach us on 23rd June 2023. Excited? Let us know @Cineworld.