George Miller, Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth Debut High-Octane ‘Furiosa’ Footage at CinemaCon

Furiosa fired up CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Warner Bros. Pictures unveiled a sneak peek at five minutes of footage of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga inside Caesars Palace during its studio presentation with the help of director George Miller and his stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth to help pump the upcoming release for theater owners.

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Warner Bros. will release Furiosa on May 24, following the film’s world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Starring Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth, Furiosa finds Miller returning to the dystopian world he created more than 30 years ago with Mad Max. It follows a young Furiosa (Taylor-Joy) after she’s snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of the great Biker Horde led by the Warlord of Dementus (Hemsworth). Furiosa must withstand many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.

The high-octane footage showed Furiosa’s journey split into chapters including “Her Odyssey Begins,” “A Warrior Awakens” and “Ride Into Vengeance,” much of it centering on the battle she faces with Dementus as she powers through a mission to honor her mother’s last wishes of returning to the Green Place.

In addition to showing the footage, the trio, greeted on the Colosseum stage by huge applause, participated in a brief Q&A with Warner Bros. chiefs Pamela Abdy and Michael DeLuca.

Answering a question posed by Abdy, Miller described the origin story for Furiosa, which is an origin story in itself from his most recent Mad Max installment, Fury Road. He said that ahead of filming Fury Road, he and the team — Miller co-wrote the script with Brendan McCarthy and Nick Lathouris — came up with complete backstories for some of the lead characters even though the events of the film only covered three days and two nights. (Furiosa, by comparison, takes place over 16-18 years, he added.)

“When Fury Road had enough traction, we thought we should go and do Furiosa and here we are. We just finished last week,” Miller said of finishing the final sound mixes.

For her part, Taylor-Joy said she looks at the film as the story of “one woman’s relentless commitment to impossible hope,” and despite facing incredible challenges “that hope is not quashed.” She said that she fell in love with the character when Charlize Theron played her in Fury Road and, as a fan, never thought this opportunity would come her way. On set, she would tell herself, “I can’t believe this is happening and that this is my job,” adding, “This is incredible. I cannot wait to see this world realized on the big screen.”

Miller also took some time to compliment his lead actors — an exchange that Hemsworth joked was “awkward” for all involved — by praising Taylor-Joy as “resolute, very disciplined and very smart” and Hemsworth as someone with a lot of dimensions. He then got laughs for calling them both frauds because they so fully disappear into their characters with whom he’s been living closely with while finishing the film. “It’s a bit freaky; it’s really weird,” he said.

The actors returned the favor by complimenting their boss. Hemsworth said he grew up in Australia watching Miller’s work (his father was also a fan) as he was “a godlike figure” there. He said Miller had great control over organized chaos on the Furiosa set. “I’ve never been on a set that felt intimidating, loud, horrifying,” he said, adding that it was completely safe and in control. He praised Miller’s grace, kindness and humility, and ability to collaborate with every individual. “It was a dream come true.”

Hemsworth explained how he helped bring the character of Dementus to life, someone who is a complete lunatic but has loads of charm as well. “It comes down the script,” Hemsworth said, adding that it presented the opportunity to play a twisted, cruel character (“with a twisted sense of humor”) but also someone who must lead these nomadic bikers and inspire them. “We wanted to interweave elements of charm and wit and humor, but there had to be a spontaneity to it. … The way he moved, the way he spoke was about manipulation, but also grabbing groups of people and saying, ‘I know what your problems are and I have the answers.'”

Miller, who began his career as a doctor before taking a detour into filmmaking, made his directorial debut with 1979’s Mel Gibson-starrer Mad Max, which he also co-wrote. The film spawned three sequels: Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and the most recent, Mad Max: Fury Road. The latter film, released in 2015, went on to gross more than $380 million worldwide, finishing its run with six Academy Awards.

CinemaCon will be held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas from April 8-11. The event hosts north of 6,000 motion picture professionals from all corners of the industry including exhibition, distribution, marketing, promotion, equipment and concession areas. The International Cinema Technology Association (ICTA) and National Association of Concessionaires (NAC) are on board as trade show partners, with Coca-Cola serving as the official presenting sponsor.

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