George Miller Spent 78 Days Shooting a 15-Minute ‘Furiosa’ Action Sequence with 200 Stunt Workers

George Miller has pushed the “Mad Max” franchise to new levels of spectacle with each film, but the Australian might have topped himself with an action sequence in the upcoming “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.”

Miller’s new “Mad Max: Fury Road” prequel, which is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month, stars Anya Taylor-Joy as a younger version of the titular character made famous by Charlize Theron. The film is based on the extensive backstory about Furiosa that Miller created to help his “Fury Road” cast and crew members immerse themselves in the film’s world.

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While the massive success of “Fury Road” would be a hard act for any filmmaker to follow, Miller’s collaborators seem convinced that he found a way to match the scale of his Oscar-winning 2015 film. In a new feature in Total Film magazine, Miller’s producing partner Doug Mitchell revealed that the film features a 15 minute action sequence that “took us 78 days to shoot” with 200 stunt workers. The crew gave the scene the codename “Stairway to Nowhere.”

While specific details about the sequence were kept under wraps, Taylor-Joy also shared her thoughts about the grueling process of shooting it.

“George and I would have these big conversations about why this particular set-piece was so long,” Taylor-Joy said. “It’s because you see an accumulation of skills over the course of a battle, and that’s very important for understanding how resourceful Furiosa is, but also her grit. It’s the longest sequence any of us have ever shot. On the day we finished, everybody got a ‘Stairway to Nowhere’ wine!”

“Mad Max: Fury Road” made roughly $380 million in the global box office, with a budget of $150 million. “Furiosa” costars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, and Alyla Browne, with a script by Miller and Nico Lathouris. It is scheduled to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 15, followed by wide release in Australia on May 24 and in the United States on May 24.

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