Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron have been so successful as the protagonists of “Mad Max: Fury Road” that it would be hard to imagine another pair in their place.
But it almost happened, as director George Miller revealed.
According to the New York Times, the filmmaker envisioned Jeremy Renner and Uma Thurman as performers for Max and Furiosa.
After the release of the third film, Miller intended to release “Fury Road” with Mel Gibson as the protagonist, but production was suspended due to the crisis against terrorism caused by the attacks of September 11.
Years later, Miller realized that Gibson was not that young for the role, so he thought of Jeremy Renner as the protagonist. Furious would be experienced by Uma Thurman, who was already in the final negotiations.
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Sadly, this was not revealed as the stars were replaced by Hardy and Theron, but Zoe Kravitz (one of Immortan Joe’s wives) said she even auditioned with Renner.
“I did a chemistry test with Jeremy Renner while we were getting ready backstage. He was one of the main choices because they hadn’t hired Tom yet [Hardy].”, she said.
Renner was probably busy with the recordings for “ Avengers: Age of Ultron, ” also released in 2015, a month before “ Mad Max: Fury Road. ”
It’s worth remembering that the character-driven franchise spin-off Furiosa finally seems to be taking shape.
According to Variety magazine, filming for “ Mad Max: Furious ” is scheduled to begin in mid-2021.
Recalling that actresses Anya Taylor-Joy (“Fragmented”) and Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”) are named to play the younger version of Furiosa.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is also one of the main choices to join the cast.
Director George Miller is involved in the making and script of the film, which is not expected to be produced until the end of “Three Thousand Years of Longing,” his current project. The story will accompany the journey of Furiosa, experienced by Charlize Theron in the original production.
Released in 2015, ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ is considered a success by expert critics, garnering 97% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, in addition to receiving six Oscar statuettes out of ten nominations, including Best Picture .
Despite this, the feature film made just $ 378.9 million worldwide, on a budget of $ 150 million.