Charlize Theron's Imperator Furiosa featured heavily in the preceding film 'Mad Max: Fury Road'. Director George Miller explained how he came upon relying on strong female inspirations for the reboot. He also praised Theron's work calling her "remarkable" and "professional" and that it was possible to have a standalone film for Furiosa.
During an interview with Deadline, Miller was asked if a female-centric film had always been part of his plans for succeeding sequels. He replied, "That feminist notion arose out of the mechanics of the story. An initial idea was to see, if the film was an extended chase, how much could people pick up on the run? And the notion being that what was in conflict was to be human, and it was five wives escaping a tyrannical warlord, and needed a female road warrior. It couldn't be male. So there was Furiosa, and the rest followed."
Miller added that the story was more character driven and that Theron's performance was well-received by the general audience. It was revealed that he hinted at such female-dominated storylines even as far back as 'Mad Max 2: Road Warrior' but his female warrior eventually met her demise in the film.
The 70-year old critically-acclaimed filmmaker also revealed that his female-led reboot was unintentional, according to Big Issue. Miller admitted that his wife Margaret Sixel and his daughter are two very strong women in his life and that they inspired him. He said, "...I think that seeps into you subconsciously and ends up in your stories."
When asked if there was a standalone film for Theron's Furiosa in the future, Miller said that it was possible but didn't discuss further details. It was previously reported by Digital Spy that despite Theron's positively received performance, her character will not be returning for the upcoming 'Mad Max' sequel. However, she would feature briefly in two other follow-ups planned.
The 'Mad Max' sequel is currently under the working title 'Mad Max: The Wasteland' but this is subject to change sooner or later during production. Its predecessor starred Tom Hardy as lead protagonist Max Rockatansky, Theron as Furiosa, Nicholas Hoult as Nux, Hugh Keays-Byrne as Immortan Joe and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as The Splendid Angharad. It served as the fourth installment and highest grossing film in the Mad Max franchise.
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