Charlize Theron: Not returning for Fury Road prequel is “heartbreaking”
By Daniel Roman
In this day of digital film enhancements, it’s become more common to see actors portray younger versions of themselves onscreen. From X-Men to Star Wars to Netflix’s Robert DeNiro gangster flick The Irishman, aging actors down with digital effects is easier than ever before, and more studios are opting to do it so the same big-name stars can play characters at all stages of their life.
But one film where we won’t see that sort of digital treatment is in the prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, currently in production at Warner Bros. Writer and director George Miller spoke to The New York Times about the decision to recast Charlize Theron’s iconic character Furiosa, who will be the focus of the prequel.
“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,” Miller said. “Despite the valiant attempts on The Irishman, I think there’s still an uncanny valley. Everyone is on the verge of solving it, particular Japanese video-game designers, but there’s still a pretty wide valley, I believe.”
It sounds like this was a hard decision to make for Miller. Mad Max: Fury Road was the result of over a decade and a half of planning, and was received extremely well. It won six Oscars — the most of any movie in 2016 — and was nominated for four more. And, as much as the movie is a Mad Max flick…you’d be hardpressed to convince me that the real star of that movie wasn’t Charlize Theron’s badass raider-warrior, Furiosa.
Theron recently sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to talk out the details on her new Netflix film The Old Guard, the difficulties facing actresses in genre films, and how she’d love to do a movie where she fistfights Keanu Reeves. She also revealed how she’s feeling about the decision to not bring her back as Furiosa.
“It’s a tough one to swallow. Listen, I fully respect George [Miller], 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,“ Theron said. “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.”
It’s pretty hard to imagine someone filling Theron’s shoes as Furiosa…but at the same time, when Fury Road came out, it was hard to imagine another character in that franchise stealing the scene from Max.
Personally, I’m with Theron on this one. It might be hard to adjust to a new actress playing a younger Furiosa, but considering how George Miller blew away all expectations with his revival of the Mad Max franchise, I’d say we’ve got more than enough reason to have some faith that he knows what he’s doing.
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