‘Mad Max’ director considered aging Charlize Theron for ‘Furiosa,’ but the technology was ‘never convincing’

The mastermind of “Mad Max” George Miller considered the use of aging technology so that Charlize Theron could star in his “Fury Road” prequel, “Furiosa,” but says it “would have been difficult” to pull it off. Instead, he opted to cast someone new in the role of Imperator Furiosa: Anya Taylor-Joy.

On a Variety cover story in Taylor-Joy and “Furiosa,” which premieres Wednesday night at Cannes Film FestivalMiller said he has observed de-aging used in films such as Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” and Ang Lee’s “Gemini Man,” starring Will Smith.

“They were both masterful directors, but it was never convincing,” Miller said of the technology. “I thought everyone would be watching if Charlize looked young and I knew that was an effect. And as time went on and we got into litigation with Warner Bros., we had to find someone younger.” (In 2017, Miller sued the studio over a $7 million bonus he claimed he was owed for “Fury Road.”)

The 79-year-old director added that one of the things that interests him most about filmmaking today is all the new effects tools.

“It’s a big difference between the analog celluloid era and the digital era,” he said. “I was lucky enough to get into it really early, especially with the movies ‘Babe’ and ‘Happy Feet’.”

But the tools weren’t good enough here. “I mean, basically, we’re following someone from 10 to 26, 28, something like that,” Miller continued. “It would have been difficult.”

Fortunately, Taylor-Joy – who rose to prominence as the protagonist of the hit Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit” – accepted the challenge of playing a character already famous for Theron. Miller first saw his skills when fellow director Edgar Wright took him to a screening of his film “Last Night in Soho,” starring Taylor-Joy. Miller then Zoomed with her and she auditioned with the “mad as hell” monologue from Sidney Lumet’s 1977 film “Network.”

“She had, in that physical sense, all the characteristics of this character – someone who has a lot of natural skills and abilities and someone who could survive in the desert, which is a pretty uncompromising world. She embodied all of that,” Miller said. “Ultimately, it’s an intuitive decision to work with someone until you make that leap… I’m really proud of this work and the way the entire cast worked together.”

The “Furiosa” set was certainly different from that of “Fury Road,” in which Theron and her co-star Tom Hardy had a notorious rivalry. “The well-documented problems between Tom and Charlize have made things more complicated,” Miller said. But in “Furiosa” there was “none of that. That way, all our energy could be spent on work.”

“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” opens in theaters on May 24th from Warner Bros.