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“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” Reveals a Younger (But Still Psychotic) Immortan Joe

March 11, 2024
By The Credits

One of the great villains of 21st-century cinema was also in a movie with one of its greatest heroes—Mad Max: Fury Road revealed the colossal fascist warlord Immortan Joe (the late, great Hugh Keays-Byrne), a carapace-wearing, skeleton-masked despot who ruled over a parched wasteland where he kept its inhabitants on the brink of starvation, dying of thirst, and much worse for the young women he took as wives. Yet he had in his midst a figure stronger than he was, quietly plotting to rip out his heart in any way she could. This, of course, was Furiosa (a phenomenal Charlize Theron), the one-armed, buzz-cut badass who stole away with Immortan Joe’s wives in a mad dash for her former home. This escape and the chase that followed made up the entirety of George Miller’s flawless Fury Road, but now Miller’s back with a story about how Furiosa came to be (now played by Anya Taylor-Joy), and a younger Immortan Joe, played by Australian actor Lachy Hulme, will play a big part in the film.

Empire Magazine has an image of Hulme as Immortan Joe in his now iconic skeleton mask. Have a look:

Hulme is stepping into the massive boots left behind by the late Hugh Keays-Byrne, who was picture-perfect as the sociopathic leader of the V8 Triumvirate. Furiosa arrives nine years after Miller’s nearly flawless Fury Road, which starred Tom Hardy as the titular Max and Theron as Furiosa, the ferocious, fearless heroine who was easily the heart and soul of the movie. Furiosa will take us back and follow her in her younger years when she was snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and ended up in the snares of Warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), the leader of the great Biker Horde, and thus began her years-long struggle against the lunatics roaming the vast wasteland and vying for supremacy of a broken world.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is set 45 years after the collapse of society and is centered on Furiosa’s violent odyssey as she desperately tries to get back home. In order to do so, she’ll be required to master all things mechanical and survive a war between Warlord Dementus and Immortan Joe. The trailer gave us glimpses of the ingenious practical effects and unparalleled stunts that made Fury Road a phenomenon and multiple Oscar winner.

Miller directs from a script he wrote alongside his Fury Road co-writer Nick Lathouris, and he’s built the world of Furiosa with plenty more Fury Road alums, including production designer Colin Gibson, costume designer Jenny Beavan, and makeup designer Lesley Vanderwalt, each of whom won an Oscar for their work on Fury Road.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga revs into theaters on May 24, 2024.

For more on Warner Bros., Max, and more, check out these stories:

Unveiling the Bene Gesserit’s Secrets With “Dune: Part Two 2” Costume Designer Jacqueline West

Nicholas Hoult on Becoming the New Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s “Superman”

Fire & Fury Return: “House of the Dragon” Season 2 Takes Flight in June

Architect of Arrakis: “Dune: Part Two” Editor Joe Walker on Forging a Ferocious Masterpiece

Featured image: Caption: Chris Hemsworth in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ action adventure “FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Jasin Boland

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The Credits

The Credits is an online magazine that tells the story behind the story to celebrate our large and diverse creative community. Focusing on profiles of below-the-line filmmakers, The Credits celebrates the often uncelebrated individuals who are indispensable to the films and TV shows we love.