George Miller Open To Idea Of Working With Chris Hemsworth Again On Marvel's 'Thor 5'

George Miller Open To Idea Of Working With Chris Hemsworth Again On Marvel’s ‘Thor 5’

Will we ever actually get “Thor 5” from Marvel Studios? That seems like a huge question mark after the lackluster effort from “Thor: Love & Thunder,” and while lead actor Chris Hemsworth seems gung-ho about donning the cape once more, what the studio actually wants to do is another matter entirely. Yet, there is a glimmer of optimism thanks to his “Furiosa” director, George Miller, who recently responded to Comic Book about his interest in working with the fellow Aussie again for a possible fifth “Thor” movie.

“I would work with Chris on anything. I really would. He’s a wonderful actor. He’s got the full range of all the skills,” the director said of the potential of working with Hemsworth again on “Thor 5” at Marvel Studios. “I mean, you’ve got to be athletic, physically. But, you also gotta be athletic emotionally and intellectually to take on these very, ultimately fairly complex, any role really. So, I was very lucky with all my cast, and particularly in the way that Anya and Chris matched each other. Particularly towards the end of the month.”

Hard to imagine that Kevin Feige wouldn’t be completely thrilled if Miller came into the Marvel offices to declare his intentions to direct a film for them. While there are certainly a bunch of hurdles to jump to get to the point of Miller actually getting involved with the MCU and the next “Thor” movie, we can’t completely dismiss the idea.

George Miller's Unmade Justice League Movie: Cast Photo Revealed - IGN

There was a time when Miller nearly made his own big studio comic book movie with “Justice League Mortal” (long before Zack Snyder’s version), and there have been reports of Warner Bros. at various times pursuing him again to tackle DC characters like Superman and Green Lantern. Perhaps something like a fifth “Thor” movie might be a little more appealing to the filmmaker, given his last three movies have very much had a fantasy/fairytale angle to them, not to mention already working with “Thor” cast members like Hemsworth on “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” and Heimdall (currently kicking it in Valhalla with Jane Foster) actor Idris Elba was his co-lead in his genie pic “Three Thousand Years of Longing.”

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It’s not lost on us the handful of references in these last two “Fury Road” connected films that have mentioned Valkyries and Valhalla as part of the Citadel’s wasteland warrior culture, seemingly adding elements of the Norse myths.

However, it’s worth noting despite all the online rumors concerning early “Thor 5” development and Hemsworth’s willingness to make one more movie to get things right alongside a potential death scene, Marvel Studios hasn’t shared any official plans for a fifth movie or that they’re even keen to make it after the mixed reactions to “Thor: Love & Thunder.”

The Ronin has theorized where a hypothetical version of “Thor 5” could go and hopefully would incorporate a bunch of the unused comic and Norse mythology as a final solo outing.

SOURCE: COMIC BOOK

‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Prequel ‘Furiosa’ Delayed To May 2024 Due To Production Delays

Yesterday, Warner Bros. announced via Variety that Furiosa would be getting a release delay from June 23, 2023 to Memorial Day weekend in May 2024. This is directly because of the production hiccups linked to COVID-19 in Australia, where the film was originally scheduled to shoot over the summer.

Instead, the film’s main leads Anya Taylor-Joy (The Northman, Last Night In Soho, The Menu), Chris Hemsworth (Thor: Love & Thunder, Extraction 2), and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Candyman, The Matrix Resurrections, Aquman & The Lost Kingdom) are going to shoot other projects until cameras roll on Furisoa in 2022.

The extensive post-production and editing process on the film is expected to take much longer than with most big studio action films, as it did with Mad Max: Fury Road, since it shot in 2012 but didn’t release until 2015.

Production on Furiosa was going to take place at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney, New South Wales. The same stage facility recently used to shoot Marvel flicks Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings and Thor: Love & Thunder.

Director George Miller isn’t new to delays on his Mad Max films, there was a ten year delay on Fury Road before they started shooting that one leading to the recasting of Mel Gibson with Tom Hardy. Hopefully, they’ll be able to begin filming next year without any further hiccups.

Furiosa will be the first film in the Mad Max franchise to focus on another lead character as it will explore the female warrior’s journey from The Green Place to The Citadel.

Miller is still expected to return Tom Hardy’s Max at some point with a continuation to Fury Road.

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD – Haunted by his turbulent past, Mad Max believes the best way to survive is to wander alone. Nevertheless, he becomes swept up with a group fleeing across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by an elite Imperator, Furiosa. They are escaping a Citadel tyrannized by the Immortan Joe, from whom something irreplaceable has been taken. Enraged, the Warlord marshals all his gangs and pursues the rebels ruthlessly in the high-octane Road War that follows.

SOURCE: VARIETY

‘Extraction 2’: Chris Hemsworth Getting Into Fighting Shape For Prague Shoot On Netflix Sequel After ‘Furiosa’ Delays

Netflix is looking like they caught a break and their Extraction sequel starring Thor actor Chris Hemsworth has jumped the line after prep on Furiosa paused nixing the planned summer shoot seemingly because of increased cases of COVID-19 there. Extraction 2 also brings back director Sam Hargrave and screenwriter Joe Russo.

Variety recently mentioned that filming on the Extraction 2 had been prepping in New South Wales, Australia the same Aussie state where Chris Hemsworth recently shot Marvel’s Thor: Love & Thunder and had been planning on shooting Furiosa over the summer.

However, due concerns of COVID-19 in the area filming on Extraction 2 has been reportedly moved to Europe in Prague, Czech Republic. There were previous rumblings from the Los Angeles Times that George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road prequel/sequel won’t begin shooting until 2022 and the report also mentions that pre-production on the prequel won’t begin until November/December alluding to the film indeed being delayed until 2022.

Hemsworth has posted an Instagram video of himself training for the upcoming action pic alongside his workout routine.

Hargrave has a background in stunts and was previously the second unit director on The Accountant, Atomic Blonde, Avengers: Endgame, and The Mandalorian. He’s expected to have directed at least one episode of The Book of Boba Fett.

Hemsworth will join Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch, The Northman, Last Night In Soho) and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (The Matrix Resurrections, Candyman, Aquaman, Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom) as the leads of Miller’s Mad Max prequel Furiosa. Filming was supposed to take place at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney, the same location used for both Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings and Thor: Love & Thunder.

Director George Miller is no stranger to production delays, he originally came up with the idea for Mad Max: Fury Road back in 1987 and filming didn’t start up until 2012, two years after Tom Hardy secured the titular role and after multiple production hiccups going back to 2001.

EXTRACTION – A black-market mercenary who has nothing to lose is hired to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international crime lord. But in the murky underworld of weapons dealers and drug traffickers, an already deadly mission approaches the impossible.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II & ‘Transformers: Rise Of The Beast’ Director Steven Caple Jr. Team For Warner Bros. Dystopian Thriller ‘By All’

Warner Bros. and actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Candyman, HBO’s Watchman) have been working together on a consistent basis with Aquaman, The Matrix 4, Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom, and will begin shooting George Miller’s Furiosa soon in Australia.

Well, Warner Bros. has just picked up another project that stars the rising talent, according to The Hollywood Reporter. They’re just acquired the dystopian thriller By All that will be led by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and has director Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II) attached.

The story kicks off in the aftermath of a tragic event and follows Donte, a man struggling to make ends meet who is forced to go on the run in a world without police, where justice is crowd-sourced. The studio and the actor sparked to the action thriller given its provocative and timely premise about the imbalance of power in communities and how it warps the sense of responsibility, family, and friendship.

The filmmaker is deep into production on Paramount’s Transformers: Rise of The Beast.

Yahya’s next big release will be the Candyman soft-reboot from director Nia DaCosta (The Marvels) and producer Jordan Peele, finally heading to theaters on August 27.

CANDYMAN – For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, visual artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II; HBO’s Watchmen, Us) and his girlfriend, gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris; If Beale Street Could Talk, The Photograph), move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by upwardly mobile millennials.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Spinoff ‘Furiosa’ Officially Shooting In New South Wales Next Year Becoming A Huge Boost To Local Economy

Today, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia at Fox Studios Australia it was officially announced that Mad Max: Fury Road prequel/spinoff, titled Furiosa, will be shot next year in New South Wales. It’s said to bring $350 million (Australian dollars) to the area which is going to be a huge boost the local economy.

Director George Miller and actor Chris Hemsworth were in attendance alongside New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian, who posted images on her Twitter account.

 Warner Bros. has given the film a release date of June 23, 2023.

Furiosa will be a prequel focusing on Charlize Theron’s Furisoa from Mad Max: Fury Road, but will see The Queen’s Gambit actress Anya Taylor-Joy in that role instead. Miller citing de-aging technology not being up to snuff to his standards leading to hiring a new younger actress instead of using VFX to bring back Theron. Joining Anya in the post-apocalyptic film will be Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

They also add that George Miller has finally wrapped production on Three Thousand Years of Longing.

Hemsworth is currently shooting Marvel’s Thor: Love & Thunder (The Big Salad) with director Taika Waititi at Fox Studios Australia.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

‘Furiosa’: George Miller’s ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Prequel Releases June 23, 2023

It was announced not too long ago via Warner Bros. that they are indeed moving forward with the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel dating it for June 23, 2023. They also confirmed the official title is simply Furiosa with director George Miller co-writing the film alongside Doug Mitchell. A summer 2023 release date suggests they might expect filming to begin sometime in 2022.

Here is an excerpt from the studio press release that confirms that the prequel’s lead actors will include Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

Up first in the lineup will be writer/director/producer George Miller’s “Furiosa,” a prequel to his hit “Mad Max: Fury Road” that introduced the wildly popular character.  Set for June 23, 2023, it will star Anya Taylor-Joy in the title role, alongside Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.  Miller penned the script and produces alongside his longtime partner, Oscar-nominated producer Doug Mitchell (“Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Babe”).

George Miller is currently busy shooting in Australia with his fantasy film titled Three Thousand Years of Longing that had been delayed earlier in the year when the film’s main lead Idris Elba got COVID-19 and documented his experience on social media leading to a hiatus. Filming recently resumed down under with Elba and co-star Tilda Swinton.

Despite Furiosa being a “prequel”, all four movies have been considered standalone features in the franchise which could mean, technically, another version of Max could appear in the film. Charlize Theron originally played the role but was recast with Anya because Miller wasn’t thrilled with the digital de-aging visual effects technology.

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD – Years after the collapse of civilization, the tyrannical Immortan Joe enslaves apocalypse survivors inside the desert fortress the Citadel. When the warrior Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) leads the despot’s five wives in a daring escape, she forges an alliance with Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), a loner and former captive. Fortified in the massive, armored truck the War Rig, they try to outrun the ruthless warlord and his henchmen in a deadly high-speed chase through the Wasteland.

SOURCE: WARNER BROS.

‘Three Thousand Years of Longing’: George Miller’s Follow-Up To ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Finally Shooting – Adds ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ Production Designer

After actor Idris Elba caught COVID-19 earlier this year while getting ready to shoot the George Miller film Three Thousand Years of Longing, production on the film halted and Elba returned to the United States to film another project while the project was given time to pause.

According to Deadline, filming has resumed on the secretive project in Sydney, New South Wales Australia and they plan of having the film ready for release by September 2021. The production team for the film budgeted at $60 million includes cinematographer John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road), production designer Roger Ford (Peter Pan, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian), and composer Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL (Deadpool, Mad Max: Fury Road).

Ford previously working with Miller on the two Babe movies.

The Sydney-based production, which is observing numerous on-set Covid safety protocols, is in fact 20 days into its 62-day shoot. The team will break up over Christmas and reconvene early next year before wrapping in the early spring for a planned September 2021 delivery. Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba are starring in Miller’s latest, whose plot details are being kept under wraps. The visionary filmmaker previously described the project to us as an “anti-Mad Max” with plenty of interiors and dialogue but also punctuated with action scenes.

George Miller is also prepping a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road focusing on a younger version of Charlize Theron’s Furiosa with a cast that is said to include Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. The Mad Max sequel likely won’t begin until either the fall of 2021 or sometime in 2022.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

George Miller’s ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Prequel ‘Furiosa’ Moving Forward At WB Officially Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Chris Hemworth

Warner Bros. has announced via trades such as Deadline that they are indeed moving forward with their Mad Max: Fury Road prequel spinoff Furiosa written and directed by George Miller.

They’ve also announced that the cast will indeed include Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch, The Northman, The New Mutants, Last Night In Soho), Yahya Abdul Mateen II (Watchmen, Matrix 4, Aquaman), and Thor/Avengers actor Chris Hemsworth. All three names had been circulating for the lead roles before today’s confirmation.

It had been suggested that Hemsworth could be playing the film’s villain.

Miller’s production team will include cinematographer John Seale, production designer Colin Gibson, and stunt coordinator Guy Norris.

When filming begins is a little unclear as Miller is busy with Three Thousand Years of Longing and his cast is busy themselves at the moment with Hemworth set to begin shooting Marvel’s Thor: Love & Thunder in early 2021 at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Anya is currently shooting Robert Eggers’ Viking epic The Northman in Belfast, Northern Ireland and recent Emmy-Winner Yahya Abdul Mateen II is finishing up Matrix 4 in Berlin, Germany.

Warner Bros. hasn’t given the film an official release date.

The film will focus on the Mad Max: Fury Road character Furiosa originally played by Charlize Theron.

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD – Years after the collapse of civilization, the tyrannical Immortan Joe enslaves apocalypse survivors inside the desert fortress the Citadel. When the warrior Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) leads the despot’s five wives in a daring escape, she forges an alliance with Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), a loner and former captive. Fortified in the massive, armored truck the War Rig, they try to outrun the ruthless warlord and his henchmen in a deadly high-speed chase through the Wasteland.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

George Miller Says Furiosa Could Become A Tyrant Herself or Create A Utopia After The Events of ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’

Writer/director George Miller still seems keen to return to the world of Mad Max with multiple films in various stages of development and is expected to shoot his prequel titled Furiosa once he finishes up with his current project Three Thousand Years of Longing. While a younger actress will replace Charlize Theron in Furiosa there is a shot we might revisit Theron in the role at some point in the future. 

George Miller has suggested on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via The Hollywood Reporter) that he has considered two options for her after Mad Max: Fury Road, one having her turn the Citadel into a utopia and the other taking cues from Joseph Campbell (inspired George Lucas’ Star Wars trilogies) with Furiosa becoming her own version of Immortan Joe. 

MILLER: “I’ve often thought about it. There are two ways to go. One is utopian, which is not an interesting story, really. I’ve somehow imagined that the first thing she would do in line with that, is go up and release the water … it wasn’t withheld. … A New Deal, politically.”

“Campbell said that the usual story is that today’s hero becomes tomorrow’s tyrant. The hero is the agent of change. They basically relinquish self-interest in order for some common good. [Campbell] basically says … you love what you’ve built, or saved, too much. You become holdfast. You become the orthodoxy. You develop the dogma and basically then you have to protect it. That tends to be the rhythm of these things.”

“I think she’s too smart to fall into that trap. She’s already seen it with the Immortan Joe. I believe he went through the same process. He was probably a heroic character in his own time.”

It remains to be seen if we’ll see more of Tom Hardy or Charlize Theron in the future but Miller has said he wants to make a direct sequel to Fury Road that could allow both characters/actors to return. A script or treatment was seemingly written at some point but it’s unknown if it will ever go in front of cameras. 

Two other locations we haven’t explored in the films such as Gas Town and The Bullet Farm could easily be the settings for a Max-centric sequel. 

SOURCE: HAPPY SAD CONFUSED PODCAST 

Charlize Theron Says ‘Furiosa’ Prequel Is A Little Heartbreaking and Comments On Status of ‘Atomic Blonde’ Sequel

During an in-depth interview with The Hollywood Reporter to promote her upcoming comic book film The Old Guard, Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron gave her genuine reaction to George Miller looking to recast the Furiosa role for the upcoming prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road.

THERON: “It’s a tough one to swallow. Listen, I fully respect George, if not more so in the aftermath of making Fury Road with him. He’s a master, and I wish him nothing but the best. 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. Obviously, I would love to see that story continue, and if he feels like he has to go about it this way, then I trust him in that manner. We get so hung up on the smaller details that we forget the thing that we emotionally tap into has nothing to do with that minute thing that we’re focusing on.”

Just because that George Miller is making a prequel to Fury Road, it doesn’t mean that Charlize won’t be asked to reprise the role in the future for a direct sequel.

Theron also states that the Atomic Blonde sequel is still in only development stages, despite a previous report it was a done-deal that was later debunked.

THERON: “Yes, we’re in the development stages right now, and that’s the one thing that lockdown has been good for — being able to develop with writers over Zoom. So, we’re actively developing [an Atomic Blonde sequel] right now.”

Development could mean a lot of things, as we know that director/producer David Leitch is busy lately signing up to direct multiple studio productions for the foreseeable future including the Japanese-set action flick Bullet Train for Sony Pictures.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER