‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ Nearly Became An Anime Project Directed By Mahiro Maeda

Visionary filmmaker George Miller returns to his gasoline-fueled wasteland fantasy action universe this summer “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.” The latest installment of his post-apocalypse saga is a prequel centering on a young Furiosa (this time played by Anya Taylor-Joy instead of Charlize Theron), but it apparently almost went in a totally different direction, using a totally different medium

In a new interview with Total Film (via Games Radar), producer Doug Mitchell recently revealed how the prequel came about and how it was actually ready 15 years ago story-wise, with the original intention of becoming an anime project, not the live-action thriller that arrives in May.

“So ‘Furiosa’ was ready, in a story sense, 15 years ago,” Mitchell explained about the long and winding road to making the film. “And it’s been percolating, the way things do in George’s brain, ever since. We [actually] had finished the script of ‘Furiosa’ before we shot ‘Fury Road.’”

READ MORE: ‘Furiosa’: Anya Taylor-Joy Boasts That George Miller’s ‘Mad Max’ Prequel Has A 15-Minute Action Sequence That Took 78 Days To Shoot

That’s not all; they wanted Japanese animator and director Mahiro Maeda, who contributed concept art for “Mad Max: Fury Road,” to direct that anime incarnation of “Furiosa” and used the working title of “The Peach.” The veteran Japanese creative is well-known in the world of design and anime, having been involved with projects like “The Animatrix” (an animated anthology spin-off of The Wachowski’s “Matrix” franchise), Studio Ghibli’s “Porco Rosso,” the massively popular “Neon Genesis Evangelion,” design work on “Shin Godzilla,” and even the anime sequence exploring the origin of O’Ren Ishii in Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill Vol.1.”

As for Mad Max himself and further stories for Tom Hardy’s character in “Fury Road?

You never know; maybe they’ll return to the idea of another Wasteland-set anime project. Miller has suggested that he has a third “Mad Max” idea percolating that took place a year before the events of “Fury Road,” but it’s unclear if that’s a story starring Max himself or just another story within the wasteland setting.

Here’s the ‘Furiosa’ synopsis:

As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.

“Furiosa” stars the aforementioned Taylor-Joy, whose career took off after she starred in the Emmy-winning 2020 Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit.” She is joined in the ‘Fury Road’ spin-off cast by Chris Hemsworth and Tom Burke, the only other names in the picture. “Furiosa” will be hitting screens on May 24, and we’ll have to wait to see if the 79-year-old Miller tackles any ‘Mad Max’ stories beyond it.