Anya Taylor-Joy Says Stepping into Charlize Theron's Shoes for Furiosa Prequel 'Can't Be Done'

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty; Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic Anya Taylor-Joy and Charlize Theron

Anya Taylor-Joy is "humbled and grateful" after landing the role of Furiosa in George Miller's upcoming prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road.

The actress, 24, spoke about the movie and working with Miller, 75, for the prequel Furiosa on Wednesday's episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, saying she had "so many feelings" when the news broke of her casting on Tuesday.

"It’s difficult to put into words, I feel so humbled and grateful," Taylor-Joy said. "The first thing that went through my head when I found out I was going to do it was, ‘I am so excited to work so hard. I am going to work so hard at this.’"

The Emma star also spoke about taking over the role from Charlize Theron, who originated the role in 2015's Fury Road.

"I fell in love with Furiosa, the way that Charlize presented her," the actress said. "She did such an incredible job and it was so beautiful and 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."

Charlize Theron as Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road

She added, "The level of commitment by those that have come before me, I endeavor to match that. That makes me really excited. [Charlize is] unbelievable. I have so much respect for the originators of this crazy world."

Taylor-Joy also revealed she had not met Miller in person but had had numerous conversations with him "about movies" and "life" on FaceTime.

"I just love his brain, I really feel like we connected," she said.

As for how she's preparing to step into the shoes of Furiosa, Taylor-Joy said, "I’ve already started dreaming about her. She’s coming in pretty strong."

"I'm just so committed to working as hard as I possibly can because I’ve always said I wanted a role that I have to give everything to," she said while revealing she was still having a hard time believing her casting.

RELATED: Anya Taylor-Joy to Take Over for Charlize Theron in Mad Max Prequel Furiosa

"My celebration was watching Harry Potter and eating great food by myself and being like, ‘Is this real?!’"

Miller launched the franchise with Mad Max (1979), Mad Max 2 (1981) and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), which all starred Mel Gibson in the leading role. His 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road followed Max (played by Tom Hardy) as he helped Furiosa, a fierce rig driver, in a war against the tyrant Immortan Joe.

Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II have also been cast in the upcoming prequel Furiosa.

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While Taylor-Joy is certainly set for success as Furiosa, Theron admitted earlier this year that it was "heartbreaking" to not be able to play the character after Miller decided against using de-aging technology to transform Theron into the younger character.

"It’s a tough one to swallow," Theron told The Hollywood Reporter. "Yeah, it’s a little heartbreaking, for sure. I really love that character, and I’m so grateful that I had a small part in creating her. She will forever be someone I think of and reflect on fondly."

Taylor-Joy can next be seen in the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit and Robert Eggers’ Viking revenge saga The Northman.