Furiosa: Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth to star in Mad Max prequel

Anya Taylor-Joy has been cast as the title role of Imperator Furiosa in the spin-off to George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road.

The prequel will focus on the origin story for Charlize Theron’s character in Miller’s Oscar-winning movie, and will also star Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film has not yet received an official greenlight, however, the newly-announced castings finally put the project on track for production.

In the past, Miller has been vocal about his wish to return to the world of Mad Max with the director teasing the possibility of a second film since the release of the original in 2015.

Miller previously revealed that the screenplay for a movie about Furiosa’s backstory was written before Mad Max: Fury Road began shooting. Speaking to the New York Times in May, he said: “It was purely a way of helping Charlize, and explaining it to ourselves.”

The director continued to explain that initially he had wanted to use special effects to “de-age” Theron for the role, however, stated that “I don’t think we’re nearly there yet”.

Miller first alluded to the possibility of a Furiosa-focused film in 2016, telling Entertainment Weekly: “She’s a pretty compelling character, so it’d be great to tell her story … Her backstory is pretty interesting. We only allude to it in this movie.”

Taylor-Joy is set to star as a chess prodigy in The Queen's Gambit later this month. Fans will also recognise her as Emma Woodhouse in the 2020 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma. The 24-year-old also acted opposite James McAvoy in Split and its sequel Glass.

Hemsworth – who is best known as the Marvel superhero Thor – will appear alongside Taylor-Joy, with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (previously Black Manta in Aquaman) in the forthcoming film too.