Anya Taylor-Joy On Starring In Mad Max: Furiosa
Anya Taylor-Joy recently weighed in about her excitement in getting to play Furiosa in the upcoming Mad Max prequel movie.
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Anya Taylor-Joy is trading in a chessboard for the chance to head off into a dystopian future. It’s going to be an interesting turn for the acclaimed actress who is set to take on a very different kind of movie in the near future. Recently, Taylor-Joy caught up with Variety’s Actors on Actors to talk about her upcoming role in the titular character in Mad Max: Furiosa. It’s going to be a different look entirely for the actress but is set up to be a very cool movie.
In the interview, Anya Taylor-Joy talks at length about what to expect from Furiosa and why she is excited to play the main character. First and foremost she cites the chance to work with acclaimed director George Miller who has helmed and written the first four movies in the Mad Max franchise starting with the original all the way back in 1975. On this chance to work with Miller, here’s what Taylor-Joy had to say:
“That brain is incredible. I feel so lucky and privileged to spend time with him, and to grow alongside him. I’m also really excited to do something physical. To physically become something else is something that will weirdly give me a lot of peace. I’m quite excited to work hard.”
In here, Anya Taylor-Joy is presumably talking about the physical transformation it will take for her to fully become Furiosa on the big screen. The dystopian nature of the film with the backdrop of the barren landscape is one thing that has set the Mad Max films apart over the last many decades. And considering this particular character cuts a different cloth on the big screen, Taylor-Joy is clearly looking forward to the chance to pull something off that’s different from other things she’s done in her career.
And of course, Anya Taylor-Joy has some big shoes to fill when it comes to playing Furiosa in the next movie. It will be the origin story about the character played by Charlize Theron in 2015s Mad Max: Fury Road. In that movie, the character of Furiosa became something of a co-hero alongside Tom Hardy’s titular lead. We are introduced to her on a mission to free herself and her cohort from the clutches of Immortan Joe. As hers and Max’s stories quickly dovetail, we know she’s a force to be reckoned with, but someone who also has a backstory worth exploring in this world.
That’s where Anya Taylor-Joy is going to take over, playing Furiosa in the upcoming prequel movie. It will be a chance to add significant depth to this world, telling the story of a character who was kidnapped early on but still has a deep understanding of the relative hell of the world she currently inhabits. It’s excellent casting for the younger version of the character.
If it’s a bit odd to think about Anya Taylor-Joy inhabiting this new space of Furiosa, a desolate world of tyrants and war vehicles, you aren’t the only one. Quickly establishing herself as one of the best actresses of her generation, she’s fresh off an award turn on the Netflix smash hit of last fall The Queen’s Gambit. Playing the deeply troubled chess master Beth Harmon, the actress was amazing in the role and will for sure be up for an award turn at the next Emmy Awards.
Before she takes the role of Furiosa, scheduled for 2023, Anya Taylor-Joy is in post-production for Last Night in Soho, Edgar Wright’s 1960s period piece with the actress in the lead. And then there is Robert Eggers’ The Northman with Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgard and others. And finally, there’s a David O’Russell film that features an all-star cast. When she finally enters the Mad Max world, it looks like Taylor-Joy will be ready.
