Charlize Theron Says Its ‘Heartbreaking’ She Won’t Return As Furiosa In ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Prequel

Charlize Theron revealed that it is “heartbreaking” that she will not be returning to play her character Furiosa in the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel.

Theron, who is now 44, told The Hollywood Reporter that, “It’s a tough one to swallow.” She added, “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.”

The upcoming movie will follow a younger version of Furiosa and director George Miller revealed that he is searching for an actress in their 20s to play the character. He told The New York Times in May that he considered using CGI technology in order to make Theron look younger in the film, but opted not to. 

He said, “For the longest time, I thought we could just use CG de-aging on Charlize, but I don’t think we’re nearly there yet. Despite valiant attempts on The Irishman, I think there’s still an uncanny valley. Everyone is on the verge of solving it, particularly Japanese video-game designers, but there’s still a pretty wide valley, I believe.”

Miller explained that he is ready to start creating the Furioasa movie after he finishes Three Thousand Years of Longing starring Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba, which production for was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Miller explained, “So after we finish it, and hopefully everything settles down with the pandemic, we’ll see what the world allows us to do with Furiosa.” 

Miller had created all four movies in the franchise starting with the original Mad Max in 1979. He followed with Mad Max 2 in 1981, then Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome in 1985 which starred Mel Gibson and then Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015 which featured Tom Hardy as Max and Theron as Furiosa. The film won six Oscars in 2016.

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